Three Goth Dorks
by WarPhoenix117
Summary: Goth. A term used to describe people in black clothing with dark and dreary attitudes, people who prefer to live with the darker side of life rather than the light. It's the one thing that binds this trio together. Along with family issues, comics, video games, movies and, well I guess being goth isn't the only thing keeps this band of dorks together. Semi-modern A.U.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, guys, I'm really excited to share this fic with you all as I've had this idea in my head for a long time and I hope you all enjoy. As for people who are more interested in my other fics just know that they're not being abandoned they're just on a hiatus. So please enjoy and leave a review as those are always welcomed. Also if you do leave a review please do so with an actual account so that I may answer some of you guy's questions.**

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"Ugh," Jaune groaned as he made his way to school. Dressed in an unzipped black leather jacket with a white hood, underneath it was a white shirt with grey and black skulls printed on the front. He even wore a pair of black skinny jeans that had a few small silver studs at the seems. On his feet were a pair of black mid-calf high combat boots. Currently, he was walking to school and while he liked walking that didn't mean he liked walking _several_ miles to a place where dreams go to die. " _Can't believe I overslept, I should really ask Cinder for a ride,"_ he told himself. " _Hopefully it's not too late to call and ask,"_ he wondered. Pulling his scroll from his back pocket he dialed her number. Just as it began to ring a black car pulled up beside him. He glanced at it with a raised eyebrow before shrugging it off as nothing special. The sound of the call being answered quickly recaptured his attention. "Hey Cin, I was won-," he was cut off mid-sentence by her voice.

"Turn around," she ordered.

"What?" he asked bluntly.

" _Turn around_ ," she ordered once more, enunciating her words in a soft tone.

" _What the fuck?"_ he mouthed before turning around with a confused expression. He saw the black he'd walked by slowly roll the driver side window down and Cinder's head popped out with her scroll to her ear.

"Hop in dork." He heard from his scroll before hearing the sound of her hanging up. He smiled softly before quickly making his way towards her car. When he opened the passenger door she greeted him. "Sup', nerd."

"Last time I checked, you were a nerd too," he said while closing the door behind him. Cinder was dressed in a gothic fashion wearing a purple sleeveless cowl neck sweater that hung off both her shoulders, showing off her bra strap and a small amount of cleavage from her sizeable bust. Over it was black under-bust corset while her arms were adorned with a pair of black arm warmers that had four silver buckles on the top. She also wore black leather pants with mid-calf high combat boots that had a few silver buckles as well.

"Were," she told him, "past tense," she explained while shifting gears. "In other words; used to be."

"I'm sorry, you _are_ a nerd," he corrected. She glared at him out the corner of her eye. He flashed her a small apologetic smile.

" _Dammit! Why are you so cute?_ " she wondered as a soft smile of her own crept onto her face. She let out a small laugh as she returned attention to the road. "So how's your morning?"

"Decent," he answered. He paused for a second before speaking once more. "How did you know that I might need a ride?"

"Your mom called me," she said while merging lanes. "She asked if I could come to get you since you overslept and probably wouldn't have a ride this morning." He nodded as a response before looking out the window thinking that he'd have to thank his mother later. He then heard Cinder turn on her radio and play a familiar metal song, he smiled softly as the two began to softly sing along.

After a few songs, the two finally made it to school Signal High. The two split up when entering the building as Cinder was a senior and Jaune was a sophomore. He only had a few minutes before first period so he ran to his locker to get his books before running to class. He reached the classroom seconds before the bell rang. Taking his seat close to the back row. He took some supplies from his backpack and set them on his desk as Dr. Oobleck began to speak. He then heard something tapping his desk, looking up he saw Ruby smile and wave at him. He smiled back before glancing at Dr. Oobleck and signaled for her to turn around. Minutes afterward a note landed on his desk. " _What's this, another death threat?"_ he wondered. Secretly opening it he surprised to find that it was Ruby and not someone who hated him.

" _Where were you this morning?"_ the note read. Jaune once again glanced at Dr. Oobleck, making sure he wasn't watching them before writing a response. He tapped her on her back causing her to spin around. She turned back after being handed the note, but soon turned her head back around and flashed him with a dissatisfied look. The message he wrote was " _Let's talk later"_.

When class finished Jaune was packing away his things when Ruby restated her question, "Where were you this morning? Weren't we supposed to compare homework?"

He looked up at her and saw that she was now standing giving him a better look at her. Like Cinder, she too was dressed in gothic fashion. Ruby wore a red corset hoodie that had a black trim and a black lace string in the back with white skulls on the sleeves. She also wore a black flared mini skirt trimmed with white roses, along with a pair of stockings and black heavy knee-high boots. "Oh, nothing I had to get a ride from Cinder since my usual options weren't available," he explained as they walked out the classroom. "Hey we can compare our work in the study hall if you'd like?" he offered.

Ruby smiled brightly, "Yeah sure," she said happily before skipping to their next class with Jaune leisurely walking behind her.

" _I really wish she wouldn't skip while wearing a such a short skirt,"_ Jaune thought as he glared daggers at a few boys who stared at Ruby's bouncing form.

The rest Jaune's morning was uneventful as he opened his locker to put some books away. Right now he was about to meet Ruby and Cinder in the study hall. He was close to the study hall when someone grabbed his arm and slammed him into the lockers. " _Who is it now?"_ he wondered somewhat calmly.

"Hello~, Arc."

" _Oh, it's her,"_ he sighed mentally as he turned his head to face his attacker. Tilting his head down he was met with long blonde hair and lilac colored eyes. "Hello, Yang," he greeted dryly. Yang was wearing a cropped brown leather jacket over a yellow tank top with a pair of sunglasses hanging from her top. She also wore dark blue skinny jeans and brown knee-high low heeled boots. "What do you want now?"

"Hmm let's see a boyfriend, a new bike, a few million lien," she paused seeing that he wasn't amused. "Oh, you meant from you? Well," she said cupping her chin before slamming a hand on the locker next to him. "I'd like you to stay the hell away from my sister."

"You know damn well that Ruby let me just stop being friends with her that easily, meaning that it's her choice on whether or not she wants to be around me."

"I know, I'm just suggesting you give her a little push in the _right_ direction."

"Why would I do that?" he asked glaring harshly at her. She shifted slightly as fear flashed across her eyes, but it was brief. Less than a second later her eyes were filled resolve and determination.

She then glared back at him, "Beca-."

"Yang!" Someone shouted surprising the two. Looking to see who it was, had surprised the two once more when saw that it was Ruby. She stomped over to the two teens before pushing Yang away from Jaune. "Yang I told you to stop harassing Jaune," she growled jabbing a finger in her direction. "He's _my_ friend which means that this is my business, not _yours_." With that said, Ruby turned around ignoring Yang's outcry, grabbed Jaune by the arm and began to lead him to their next period. He glanced back at Yang with a pitied look.

On one hand, he sympathized with her. Being an older sibling himself he knew what it was like to want to protect your younger sibling with all that you have. He also knew of the reputation he had at the school. Most students found him to be unapproachable as his eyes were often filled with a cold uninterested stare. Couple that with his sometimes eerie silence, which was only because he was socially awkward, and more than a few students are afraid of you. However, this combination also attracted unwanted attention, specifically bullies and other people who thought that they were top dog. This meant he got into more than a few fights and every challenger became a bloody stain on his fist, another reason for people to fear him. To add the cherry on top he, like the rest of his friends, dressed in dark clothing as well, making him look even scarier.

So, yeah, he knew why Yang wasn't a fan of his. However, that didn't mean he would just up and abandon Ruby just because she said so. It was Ruby's choice, if Ruby said she didn't want to be around him anymore then he'd respect her wishes and cut all ties with her. However, until that day comes he would continue to be her friend. Another reason why he wouldn't abandon her was that not only was he one of her closest friends, but he was also one of her only friends that weren't friends Yang before meeting Ruby. He knew how Ruby felt about Yang using her own friends to force Ruby out of her shell. He had a similar problem with one of his older sisters and he refused to let Ruby go through the same misadventure he went through.

"I'm sorry she keeps bothering you," Ruby said pulling him out of his thoughts.

He chuckled softly, "It's okay Ruby, I know she's just looking out for you," he told her while wiggling his arm out of her grip. "So there's no need for you to apologize," he said patting the young girl on her head causing her to pout cutely.

"Yeah, but that doesn't give her the right to keep harassing you even though I've already told her not to judge a book by its cover."

"It's fine Ruby. Just give your sister some time and she'll back off eventually," he told her just before entering the study hall.

Ruby lowered her voice so she wouldn't disturb the other students. "That's what you said last year, and the year before that, and the year before that," she argued as they walked towards the table Cinder was sitting at.

"Hey, I said 'eventually' didn't I? Just give it some more time," he told her as the two sat down. Jaune sat next to Cinder and Ruby sat next to him.

"What are you guys talking about?" Cinder asked.

"Yang," he answered. Cinder nodded in response. "So what are you working on Cin?" Jaune wondered while retrieving some of his notebooks.

"Just this essay for Peach, it's gonna be a total pain."

"How many words?"

"8000," she groaned.

"Come on Cin I can that write in my sleep."

"How about you write mine then."

"Cin, just because I can, doesn't mean it'll actually live up to Peach's standards."

Cinder groaned in response, "I hate you."

"Come on Cinder it can't be that hard," Ruby chimed.

"It is if you're in Creative Writing," she grumbled.

Jaune gave her a pat on the back for support before turning to Ruby. "All right Ruby let's compare our homework," he said as he opened a notebook to last night's math work.

After a few minutes of comparing their answers, Ruby was now adorably pouting as she copied off Jaune's homework. Apparently more than half of her answers were wrong meaning she had to redo the majority of her work. Jaune offered to let her copy off his homework so that she wouldn't have to listen to him explain it multiple times. "Can't believe those answers were wrong," she groaned in clear frustration.

"Believe it, Ruby," Cinder chimed, "If not for Jaune and Emily I would've gotten a C in that class."

"It was mainly Emily," Jaune corrected as he looked over some more homework from the night before.

"Jaune, what did I tell you about selling yourself short?" Cinder chastised.

"Cin, you know just as well I do that Emily did most of the heavy lifting, I just helped to point out some of the mistakes you made."

"Which still help out a ton. Like I said Jaune don't sell yourself short, sometimes the little things can make all the difference."

"Okay," Ruby sighed in relief as she closed her math notebook. "Finally finished."

"Nice, ready for the next one?" he asked.

"Heh, no," Ruby said quickly.

"All right let's move on. Next is English," he said while Ruby let out a moan of despair. "I know Ruby, not my strong suit either."

"That sounds like my cue," Cinder said putting down her pen to look over Jaune's work.

"Don't you have a paper to write?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Shh, don't speak about that," she whispered with a finger to his lips, before returning to his English homework. After reviewing both of their assignments Cinder returned them, "Nice job guys barely any real mistakes. Although you may want to switch out a few words just for variety."

"Awesome, thanks Cinder," Ruby said as she looked over her paper.

"No problem Ruby," Cinder replied as she begrudgingly went back to her own work. "Oh, Jaune because I'll probably be the one to take you home does that mean we're going to pick your little sisters up?"

"Probably," he answered.

"Oh, can I come too?" Ruby asked happily.

"Um, yeah, I guess," Jaune and Cinder answered simultaneously.

Jaune glanced at the clock on the wall, "Only a few minutes left, might as well get ready to go." Cinder sighed in relief knowing she'd no longer have to work on her paper, for now at least. Soon after they finished putting their things away, the bell rang.

"So, we're going to the roof right?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah," Jaune confirmed, "I'll meet you guys there," he said while heading to a vending machine. After buying some sodas Jaune began to make his way to the nearest staircase. On his way there he walked past Weiss Schnee who was kneeling down picking up some scattered papers. Deciding to be nice he walked over to her and began to help gather her papers. Weiss was dressed in a sleeveless short light blue dress with a flared skirt that faded to white at the hem. She also wore black stockings and white high heels. While her neck, wrist, and fingers were adorned in beautiful jewelry.

"Oh thank," she stopped herself when she saw who it was. "Ugh, what do you want Arc?" she asked in a venomous tone.

A tired sigh escaped Jaune's lips, "I'm just trying to help Weiss."

"Well, I don't need help from a ruffian like you," she spat.

Jaune didn't respond, instead, he picked up the last of her papers and handed them to her. She snatched them out of his hand and dusted them off. She looked back at him to say something but saw that he was already walking away. With a "humph" she turned around began walking to her destination. When Jaune opened the door to the roof he saw Ruby and Cinder sitting at a circular picnic table laughing. "What's so funny?"

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing don't worry about," Cinder answered.

 _"Ah, i_ _t was probably one of those 'you're a boy you wouldn't understand' jokes that my sisters like make when I'm not around,"_ he thought. "Well, okay then," he said while unzipping his backpack. "So, who wants lunch?"

"Me!" the girls said simultaneously.

He then pulled out a large brown paper bag and set it on the table before pulling out its contents. "Let's see, a chicken salad sandwich, strawberries, and cookies for Ruby. A tuna salad sandwich, an apple, and a cheesecake for Cinder."

"Thanks, Jaune," the girls said as they began taking bites of their food. This was a common thing among them, having Jaune make school lunches for the girls since what he made was many times better than the lunches the school had. No offense to the school but being friends with the son of a famous chef very clearly had its benefits.

"I also grabbed you guys some drinks," he said passing out the sodas he bought earlier.

"So it's Friday, are the three of us doing anything later tonight?" Cinder asked before taking another bite of her sandwich.

"We could go to the batting cages," Jaune suggested.

"Nah we went there last week let's do something else," Cinder replied.

"How about we go to the movies?" Ruby chimed.

"Anything good playing this week?" Jaune wondered.

"I think there's a new Dragonborn movie."

"Sure," Cinder spoke, "I wouldn't mind seeing that. How about we go to the arcade afterward?"

"Okay movies and arcade it is," Jaune said as he took a bite of an apple.

"Oh, Jaune I read those comics you lent me," Ruby said suddenly.

"What'd you think about 'em?"

"They were awesome, I really liked how Ferrus deals with the some of other Grimborn and Lacedottir is freaking amazing! Do you think she'll be his new love interest?"

Jaune cupped his chin before responding with, "Don't know it's a little too early to tell.

"Are you guys talking about Ferrus Darkspawn?" Cinder asked while eating her cheesecake.

"Yeah, they're about to start a new story arc, so I lent Ruby the most recent issues so she could catch up."

"Hey, you mind if I borrow them next? I need to catch up as well."

"Sure I don't mind," said Jaune.

"I'll give them to you after school," said Ruby.

"Thanks, Ruby." Cinder said before feeling her scroll vibrate. " _I should've turned off notifications,"_ she thought with a heavy blush as she reached into her cleavage for her scroll. Jaune blushed heavily and turned away from the sight. Opening it up she grimaced when she saw that it was a message from her mother. "Jaune, you mind if I stay at your place for the night?"

"I don't mind but-?"

"Just because," she answered before he could even finish asking. "I mean it's been a minute since the last time I spent the night, so you know, why not?"

"Can I stay the night too?!" Ruby chimed excitedly.

"Ask your dad Ruby." Just then the bell rang, "Time to head back," he said as he grabbed his backpack. Ruby and Cinder placed the food containers back into the paper bag. After putting the bag back into his book bag they headed for the door.

As the final bell of the day rung Jaune couldn't but let out a sigh of relief. As he put the last of his supplies away Ruby walked over to his desk. "Ready?"

"What about Yang won't she angry if she sees you leaving with me?"

Ruby waved it off, "She will but it's nothing to worry about, I already told my dad that I won't be coming home with her and that I'll be back later in the evening." Nodding in response Jaune and Ruby walked towards the door only to be stopped by an arm in the middle of the doorway.

"Where are you going Arc?" Cardin asked.

"Out of my way asshole I'm not in the mood," Jaune retorted as he glared sinisterly at the brute. Cardin was dressed in a tight grey spandex shirt that hugged his muscles with black jeans and white sneakers.

"Yeah come on Cardin, let us go," Ruby chimed.

"Oh, look at this little Jauney finally got himself a girlfriend. Gonna protect your little boyfriend here pipsqueak?" he said mockingly. Jaune pulled his fist back ready to give Cardin the beating of a lifetime when a voice rang out.

"Winchester!" they heard someone yell from down the wall. Turning his head Cardin saw Cinder walking towards him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Mind your own business Fall," he spat.

"This _is_ my business," she stated calmly while crossing her arms with a dark glare pointed at him.

He grimaced slightly before giving her a glare of his own, his eyes flickered between her and Jaune for a moment as a smirk formed on his lips. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Jaune's fist smashing into his face. Before he could recover Jaune grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him forward, before thrusting his knee into Cardin's stomach, and punching the brute in the nose. Finally, he lifted the brute up by his hair before punching him in the nose once more and sent him to the ground. Jaune looked up to see students staring at him in shock. Though they quickly dispersed when they noticed him staring back at them. "Let's go," he told the others as he stepped over Cardin who clutching his nose as blood poured from it.

"This isn't over Arc!" he yelled as the trio walked away from him.

As the three got in Cinder's car, Cinder spoke up, "Did you really have to beat the shit out of him?"

"Maybe not but that smirk he had on his face sent me over the edge," Jaune explained. "I could tell he was going to say something vulgar about you."

There was a pink tint on Cinder's face when she heard his reasons for taking down that bully. She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek, making him blush heavily, "You can call that my thanks for protecting me."

"Uh, y-yeah no problem," he stuttered. Ruby, who was sitting in the backseat was pouting at their small display of affection.

"I think it was really awesome how you took care of Cardin and now he'll think twice before messing with us again," Ruby chimed as she leaned forward. She too kissed him on the cheek.

"R-ruby?!" The older teens shouted in surprise with rose-colored cheeks.

"S-sit down I'm driving right now!" Cinder yelled.

"Y-yeah, Ruby and what was that for anyway?" Jaune stammered out.

"That was, my thanks for wanting to protect me as well, I saw how angry you got when Cardin started mocking me," she explained with her face as red as her namesake.

"You didn't have to kiss me though."

Ruby furrowed her brows, "You let Cinder do it," she retorted. Neither Jaune or Cinder replied to her feeling that was pretty much pointless to even try as the younger teen was correct. Cinder did kiss him as thanks without any objections from Jaune, so Ruby was just following her example. Which meant that it was just an innocent little "thank you" kiss. It wasn't like Ruby actually harbored romantic feelings for Jaune, _"R_ _ight?"_ Cinder wondered. Not wanting to think about it any further she decided to turn on the radio to take her mind off the subject.

After singing a few songs and cracking a few jokes the trio pulled up in front of Shady Oaks Elementary School. Jaune got out the car and walked towards the crowd kids running around looking for their parents hoping to find his sisters. While he did that Cinder's mind returned to their earlier thoughts. There was no way the young girl was interested Jaune, she couldn't be. _"Stop thinking like that. Remember_ _Ruby said it herself that she wasn't interested any dating anyone,"_ Cinder reminded herself. Though try as she might Cinder couldn't shake the feeling of doubt. Looking at Ruby through her rearview mirror Cinder spoke, "Hey, Ruby?"

The younger girl looked up at her friend, "Yeah, Cinder?"

Cinder opened her mouth to speak but the words got stuck in her throat. Instead, she stuttered for a few seconds before speaking, "Could you hand me those Ferrus Darkpawn comics?"

"Yeah sure," she replied putting down her scroll and unzipping her backpack. She pulled one out and inspected it to make sure that it was the correct one before handing it over to Cinder, "Here you go, that's the first one in this storyline."

"Thanks," she said taking the comic out of its protective sleeve. She opened it up and started reading although her mind wasn't completely focused on the comic. After she'd read a few pages Jaune had returned with his younger sisters Alyson and Julie. Alyson was dressed in a red long sleeve shirt with silver feathers printed on the front under a pink jacket. On her legs was a pleated denim skirt and red and pink striped leggings along with red sneakers. Julie was dressed similarly to her twin except the reds were replaced with blues and the pinks with purples.

"Hi, Cinder! Hi, Ruby!" the energetic little girls greeted.

"Hi, munchkins," Cinder greeted back with a wide smile on her face.

"Hi, guys," Ruby said as the girls sat on either side of her.

"You guys have fun at school?" Cinder asked.

"Mhmm," Alyson answered. "Hey, Jaune can we get ice cream?" she asked.

"Can we Jaune, please?!" Julie pleaded.

"Come on Jaune say yes," Ruby demanded.

"Yeah Jaune, can we?" Cinder asked with a soft chuckle.

Jaune let out a sigh of defeat, "Show me your test scores," he ordered. The twins obliged by opening their book bags and handing him the tests they received earlier that day. Looking over them he saw that both had received a B on their math tests. "Okay we can get ice cream," he said with a small smile.

"Yay!" the girls screamed, causing Jaune to cringe a little.

"Oh, oh, can we get two scoops?" Julie wondered.

"Come on Jaune we gotta get two scoops, there's no point if you don't," Ruby chimed.

"Yeah, please big brother?" Alyson begged.

"Yeah big brother, please," Cinder teased.

"You're enjoying this a little too much," he told Cinder.

"Hey, I want ice cream just as much as the next girl."

Jaune let out another defeated sigh, "Okay you can two scoops," he said. The four girls screamed "yay" once more, "But," he interjected, "You have to get an A on your next test. Deal?"

"Deal!" the twin said at the same time.

"Okay, Cin let's go," Jaune said while looking out the window. Cinder restarted the car as the four girls began to sing the classic Leslie Sarony song dubbed, ice cream. _"_ _It's gonna be a long ride,"_ he thought to with sigh.

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 **Well that's the end of the first chapter once again please tell me what you thought of it and if you do review please do so with an actual account so that I can respond to some of your questions. Quick extra little detail here, this really shouldn't have to be said but for those who may have missed it should know that Cinder is 17, Jaune is 15, and Ruby is 13.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, guys here is the next chapter in Three Goth Dorks I hope you all enjoy and please a review as those are always helpful even some of the more negative ones.**

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" _Oh, thank Christ,"_ Jaune mentally sighed in relief as they finally reached his house. Thirty minutes of listing to his sisters sing to children songs damn near drove him insane. What made it even worse was that Ruby and Cinder were singing along with them and encouraging his sisters to sing even more. When they pulled into his driveway Jaune all but jumped out of the car.

"Come on Jaune, it wasn't that bad," Cinder teased while giggling. He shot her a glare when reaching his front porch. Honestly, he'd have less of a problem if the songs were actually _good_. If they actually had some heart put into them instead of someone just slapping together random notes and melodies with poor vocals mixed in just for a small paycheck. He let out a groan while unlocking the front door. Stepping inside he was greeted with the familiar smell of cinnamon and vanilla. He had one second of peace before the twins rushed through the door behind him.

"Okay you two," he called out making them stop dead in their tracks. "It's Friday, so that means you have to do at least one hour of homework and then you can go play," he told them sternly.

"Yes, Jaune," they said in downcast as they walked to the dining room.

"So Jaune," Ruby chimed suddenly, "What are we gonna do first?"

"We should get started on our homework as well Ruby that way there's less to do at the end of the weekend."

"Oh, what?! I thought we were gonna play video games and eat cookies, I did not sign up for this!"

"I'm with Ruby on this Jaune, we came here to relax and _not_ do homework," Cinder interjected.

"Seriously?" he asked. Both girls took a stance and looked identical to one another, both had their hips cocked and a hand placed on each hip, with their heads tilted to the side. Even their expressions were the same, a serious face with a raised eyebrow. "Guys it's just one hour," he reasoned. Ruby and Cinder glanced at each other before looking back at him.

"One hour?" Cinder asked.

"Promise," he answered.

"Will there be snacks?" Ruby wondered.

Jaune sighed, "Yes Ruby there will be snacks." Cinder looked at her nails while Ruby mimicked her movements perfectly. The girls shared another look.

"Promise to repaint our nails after and we'll stay," Cinder bargained.

"Ugh," he groaned while dragging a hand across his face, "Fine I'll paint them when we're done. Happy?"

"Very," Cinder said with a smirk as she and Ruby sashayed towards the dining room. A sigh escaped Jaune's lips as he hung head in exhaustion. " _I've got to learn how to say no to those two,"_ he stated mentally as he raked a hand through his hair. He then headed towards the kitchen to make something for them all.

Jaune walked into the dining room with a large plate of food in his arms. As he set it down on the rectangular glass dining table the girls stopped what they were doing and stared hungrily at the food he prepared. The plate was covered in deep-fried ham and cheese balls topped with shredded parmesan cheese, with a bowl of marinara sauce in the middle. Ruby was the first to reach for one but her hand was slapped away Jaune. "Wait," he ordered. "I need to get some plates and fondue forks." He went into the kitchen to grab them and when he came back he saw the girls hurriedly sit down. He looked at the plate and saw a few fried cheese balls missing. He then looked at their faces, and each one had crumbs around their mouths. He let out another sigh before setting the plates and fondue forks in front of each of them. "Okay, are we ready to get started?"

"Yep," answered Ruby as she popped another fried cheese ball into her mouth. The other girls nodded in agreement.

"Finally," he said as started on his own homework. The hour was filled with Jaune helping Ruby and his sisters with their assignments and Cinder complaining about her paper and the five of them eating the food he made. Well, it was more like the four of them eating as Jaune barely had any before noticing that they were all gone. Suddenly a noise came from Jaune's scroll, "Alright guys we've been studying for an hour now we can finally hang out," he told them. With that said the twins excitedly stood up and rush off to their room.

"I have to take a piss," Cinder said getting up from her chair. "I'll meet you guys in Jaune's room," she told them as she jogged to the bathroom. Jaune started gathering the plates when Ruby spoke.

"Jaune I can help you clean up if you'd like?" she offered while grabbing some of the fondue forks.

He smiled at her, "Thanks Ruby," he said as they walked into the kitchen with the dirty dishes. As Jaune began to wash them when Ruby piped up.

"Hey, Jaune," she began, he looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "You mind helping me out with something?"

"Yeah sure, what do you need help with?"

"Halloween," she stated.

"You want me to go trick or treating with you?" he guessed.

"Yes, but that's not I what I was gonna ask," she told him as she pulled herself up onto the countertop putting them at eye level. "I need help picking out my costume," she said while fishing her scroll out of her pocket. Opening it up she showed him a picture of what he assumed to be a cute pumpkin theme witch. "I can't decide between this one and," she paused as she scrolled through her pictures, "this one," she finished and showed him another picture. This one seemed to be a corrupted monarch in some questionable clothing.

"The pumpkin witch," he answered immediately.

"Really?" she asked somewhat surprised, "Why that one?"

"The corrupted monarch is a little too," he paused as he shook the image of Ruby in that outfit out of his head, " _provocative_ , for someone your age."

Ruby frowned and narrowed her eyes, "I can see that Jaune," she stated matter of factly, "obviously I would cover up more. I mean it's gonna be cold Halloween night, you think I'd wear something this revealing?!" The woman in the picture wasn't _that_ scantily clad but she did show more skin than he'd want to see on a thirteen-year-old on a night like Halloween. "I'm just mainly talking about the _idea_ of a corrupted princess," she clarified, "and maybe some of the clothing design in the picture."

"Oh, well, in that case, I'm not sure," he said just as he put the last cleaned dish on the drying rack. Drying off his hands he stated, "Why don't we asked Cin, and see what she thinks?" After grabbing their bags from the dining room he followed Ruby to his room, where they found Cinder lounging on Jaune's bed with her scroll out.

Jaune's room was decently sized and dressed in gothic decor. His walls were painted midnight blue and were covered in band posters. In the corner to the left of his door was a long black corner desk that housed his laptop, an X-Ray and Vav figurine, and a nail drying station. On one end of the desk was a dark red electric guitar and on the other, a grey bass guitar. Along the left wall was a tall black bookcase, with comics, books, other figurines, and memorabilia lining its shelves. Next to was a T.V. stand that housed his T.V., game consoles, games, and DVDs. In front of the t.v. was a purple love seat couch. On the other side of it was a bookcase just like one the before it. On the opposite wall was his queen-sized bed dressed in black and white sheets with a red bean bag chair next to it. Cinder glanced at them before looking back her scroll, "Jeez, what the hell took you guys so long?"

"Sorry Cin had to clean up from earlier," he explained setting their bags next to his desk. He then opened a drawer and pulled out a small bag.

"Cinder I need your help," said Ruby as she took a seat next to Cinder.

"What's up?" she asked looking up from her scroll.

"I haven't picked out my Halloween costume yet and I was hoping for another opinion on what I should dress up as." She then showed Cinder the first picture. "First up is pumpkin witch."

"Ooh, that's cute, I think you'd look adorable in that Ruby."

"Okay, next is corrupted princess," she said as pulled up the next picture. Cinder's face changed from a small smile to a look a clear distaste.

"No. No. You are not wearing that," she ordered.

"With less skin," Jaune added as he pulled his swivel chair in front of the girls getting ready to paint their nails.

"Oh, well then let's do that one," said Cinder.

"Why that one?" asked Jaune.

"It'll fit our royalty theme," she told him. He raised an eyebrow clearing not understanding her. "Don't you remember, Alyson and Julie are going as fairy princesses and I'm dressing up as a vampire queen, so we have a theme of royalty. If Ruby dresses as another princess she won't stick out."

"You're going as a vampire queen?" Ruby asked in awe.

"Yep," Cinder answered. "Wanna see my costume?"

"Hell yeah, I do!" Ruby shout excitedly.

"Swear word!" the teens heard as Alyson and Julie burst into Jaune's room with a jar halfway filled with lien.

"Dang it," Ruby groaned as she reached into her pockets for her wallet. After dropping a single lien into the jar the twins left. "Anyway, I'd love to see your costume Cinder."

"Okay, then wait here," Cinder told them as she stood up from the bed and walked out of the room.

"While she does that I'll start painting your nails, Ruby," Jaune stated as he took hold of her hand. "What color do you want?"

"Red base with Zwei's face on top." Picking up the red nail polish Jaune got to work.

"So how is Zwei? I haven't seen him in a while."

"Oh, he's doing well," she said with a smile. "Although he does miss little Kerby. Speaking of which, Jaune where is Kerby, with the twins?"

"No, Sabrina said that she had been feeling lonely so she asked if could keep him for a week. He'll be back sometime tomorrow."

"Awesome I can't wait to see him again." Just then they heard the front door open and close.

" _I'm home my darlings~_!" someone said in a sing-songy voice.

"Hey, mom!" Jaune shouted from his room before returning to Ruby's nails.

"Hello, my darling boy!" she shouted back causing Jaune to roll his eyes.

"Hi, Mrs. Arc!" Ruby greeted.

"Hello, Ruby," Jaune's mother greeted as her head popped into the doorway. "How are you today?"

"I'm fine Mrs. Arc."

"Jaune, where are my twins?"

"In their room," he answered quickly.

"And where's Cinder?" his mother asked while stepping into the room. She wore a purple bodycon dress with a ruffled skirt and a white blazer with golden buttons, along with black high heels.

"She went into Jasmine's room to go put on her Halloween costume so she could show off to Ruby, and I'm painting Ruby's nails while we wait."

"You know I haven't seen her costume yet either. How about I wait here with you."

"Sure," Ruby said as the blonde mother sat down next to her.

"Hey, mom do you mind if Ruby spends the night here?"

"As long it's okay with your father dear," she said while looking at Ruby.

"Okay I'm ready," they heard Cinder cry out from down the hall.

"Come on in," Jaune told her as he continued to paint Zwei's face on Ruby's nails. When Cinder stepped into the room there was an audible gasp from both Ruby and his mother. Jaune didn't look as he'd already seen it however his reaction was more or less the same as theirs.

"Wow, holy," Ruby exclaimed only to be stopped by the sound of Mrs. Arc clearing her throat, "Um, heck? Holy heck you look amazing!"

"Why thank you, Ruby," Cinder replied as she turned around giving them a view from the back. Cinder wore a short off-shoulder sleeveless red dress that hugged her body tightly, emphasizing her curves while also showing a bit of cleavage. The neckline and hem of the dress had were trimmed with golden etchings. The skirt was shorter in the front reaching down to mid-thigh length while the back of the skirt was knee length. The skirt was also parted on the sides just below her hips. On her arms were black arm warmers decorated with golden bracers, that went past her elbows. On her legs wore black thigh-high leather high heeled boots that, like her arms warmers, had golden armor that went from the ankle up the knee. She even had on stockings that peaked out just above the hem of her boots. Hanging from her shoulders was a black cloak that hung just below her knees. On the cloak were two gold brooches that were connected by a golden chain on the collar and dark grey fur that stretched from the collar to the shoulders. "It not complete as I'm missing some accessories and the cloak is missing the inner fur lining but the clothes themselves are finished. What do you think Rayna?" she asked looking at Mrs. Arc.

"Well it looks nice but," Rayna paused, "don't you think it's a little much for trick or treating?"

"Rayna," Cinder whispered as she tilted her head towards Jaune who was busy putting the finishing touches on Ruby's nails. Getting the hint Rayna gave a small nod, shrugging her shoulders she mouthed, " _Good luck"_.

"Well if your gonna wear that then please be careful," Rayna said as she got up Jaune's bed. "And Cinder just because you'll be eighteen soon doesn't mean you can call me by my first name," she said sternly before leaving the room.

"Yes, Mrs. Arc," Cinder said with a giggle. "Well Jaune," Cinder said as she reclaimed her spot the bed, "what do you think?"

"Cin I told you the first time you showed me, it looks nice. The costume looks great on you," Jaune answered while he let Ruby inspect her nails.

"Sorry I must've forgotten," she lied.

"Anyway, now that I'm done with Ruby what color do want me to paint yours?"

Cinder inspected the black chipped nail paint before answering, "I think I'll do purple this time." Jaune silently took out the purple nail polish and began to apply it to her nails.

"Hey, Cinder earlier you said that you guys are doing a royal theme for Halloween, right?" Ruby asked with a finger to her chin.

"Mhm," Cinder hummed with a nod.

"So does that mean that Jaune's going as a knight or a prince or somethin'?" Jaune stopped what as he was doing and tossed a glare at Cinder before returning to her nails. Cinder covered her mouth, snickering at his reaction.

"No Ruby," she said as she cupped Jaune's chin and forced him to look up at her. An evil grin spread across her lips and her eyes filled with lust, "He'll be my human slave," she cooed in a tone filled with seduction.

Ruby's cheeks flushed slightly as she gasped, "Really Jaune? You're going as her slave?"

"Not willingly," Jaune growled as he tore away from Cinder grip.

"Come now Jauney, you're not still mad are you?" she cooed.

"Yes I'm still mad!" he exclaimed. "You cheated and that's the only reason why I'm going as your stupid slave."

Cinder pouted cutely, "Jaune, we've been over this," she said, "I didn't cheat, you lost fair and square."

"I'm confused," Ruby chimed in a low tone, "What did Cinder do?" Jaune let out an exasperated sigh as he looked over at Ruby.

"About a month ago I was thinking about my costume, it was supposed to be a corrupted knight but Cin suggested I be her human slave so that she and I could match. I was against the idea but Cin kept on insisting. Seeing that the argument was going nowhere I suggested that we play a few games of poker to end our little quarrel. I even got Jasmine to be the dealer so there wouldn't be any cheating."

"And I didn't cheat, you just had some bad luck," Cinder lied. She totally cheated as she'd never beaten Jaune in a game of poker before and knew that this time would be no different. So she asked Jasmine to throw the game in her favor. "Just accept that you lost and move on. Honestly holding on to that one game isn't doing you any favors Jaune."

Jaune then let out a groan of despair, "How long until the movie starts Ruby?" he asked needing to switch subjects.

"About forty minutes from now," she answered.

"That place is close to thirty minutes away so we should probably get ready to go soon," said Cinder. "Which means I need to change back into my regular clothes."

"Don't worry I'll finish up soon and then you can use the nail dryer," he told her. After a few minutes Jaune had finished and Cinder was now using the nail dryer on his desk, and once her nails were adequately dry she rushed into Jasmine's room to change. Jaune was now lying down on his bed watching videos on his scroll with Ruby lying next to him, her hands were wrapped around his bicep and her head on his shoulder. They were about to watch another when Cinder burst through the door startling Ruby.

"I'm ready so let's go," Cinder ordered before leaving the room. Jaune tried to move but still felt Ruby's grip on his arm.

"Something wrong Ruby?" he asked.

"No," she groaned when she let go of his arm and walked out of the room. " _She couldn't have taken just a few more minutes to get ready,"_ Ruby groaned mentally as she and Jaune made their way to the front door. The trio waved goodbye to Jaune's mother as they piled into Cinder's car and pulled out of his driveway. "H-hey Jaune," Ruby hesitantly called.

"Yeah what's up?" he asked.

"Do you wanna go to the haunted house with me next weekend?" she asked in a hushed tone with red cheeks.

"What?" he asked as he turned down the death metal song that playing from Cinder's radio.

"I said do you want to the haunted house with me this next weekend?" she asked a little louder this time.

"Sure Ruby," Cinder answered, "Jaune and I would love to go with you." Ruby wanted to tell Cinder that she was only inviting Jaune but couldn't find the heart to do so. "Although I am a little surprised that you want to go, I thought you didn't like scary stuff?"

"Well my dad got some tickets to the amusement park and said that Yang and I could bring some friends, so I thought I'd ask Jau- er, you guys if you wanted to go, and I suggested the haunted house because it's close to Halloween and I thought why not go there with my friends?"

"Yeah sure Ruby I'll go," Jaune told her a small smile.

Ruby beamed at him, "Really?!"

"Yeah it'll be fun for the three of us," he replied. Ruby's smile dimmed a bit when she heard him say "three", but did not disappear.

"Oh," Cinder cooed. "Are you going be our knight in blackened armor protecting his dark maidens?" she teased.

Jaune flushed slightly and turned away, "Shut up Cin," he said with a small laugh. Cinder and Ruby giggled at his embarrassment but neither girl could resist the urge of imagining Jaune in black armor with sword in hand protecting them from evils.

When arriving at the theatre the group couldn't help but notice just how packed it was. "What the hell's going on here?" Cinder asked as they headed towards the ticket stand. As they walked a sign caught Jaune's eye.

"Maybe it's because of that?" he said pointing at the sign. The sign read: ' **Movies half-off every weekend all October long** '.

"Makes sense to me," Ruby chimed. After getting their tickets and food they headed to one of the theatres to watch their movie. Only one thing though. It was packed full of people. All the seats seemed to be taken until Ruby spotted three all the way in the back row. The trio rushed up the stairs to get hoping to get there before anyone else. Ruby was the first to make it. She sat down quickly and waited for her friends. Jaune sat down after in the chair right next to her. However, just before Cinder could make it someone else had sat down in the last chair.

"Fuck," she whispered.

"Here you go Cinder," Ruby whispered as she scooted over in her chair hoping to make room for her friend.

"Thanks, Ruby but I don't we'll both fit," she told the other black haired girl when an idea formed in her head.

"How about you sit in mine?" Jaune offered as he started to stand. Cinder put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back into his seat.

"Don't worry Jaune I got an idea," she said. She then took the bag of popcorn from his hand and eased herself into his lap. Ruby's jaw dropped while Jaune's cheeks became significantly darker but stayed silent. "See," she said looking back at him with a lustful grin on her face, "nothing to worry about," she said as she leaned back into his chest. Jaune was about to speak but Cinder shushed him, "The movie's starting," she told him as she wiggled in his lap trying to get more comfortable. If Jaune wasn't blushing before he definitely was now as his cheeks grew even darker when realizing that he'd have to spend two hours like this. " _This is gonna be great,"_ he groaned mentally trying to keep his attention on the movie and not on the sensation of Cinder wiggling her rear in his lap. Although this was not her intention, she genuinely wasn't trying to arouse him by wiggling in his lap, actually, she was just trying to get comfortable. As for Ruby, she'd gotten over the initial shock and was now adorably pouting as she munched on her cookies and popcorn.

* * *

"Oh finally," Jaune stated as the movie had just ended. He'd hardly been able to focus on the movie as he had to deal with Cinder on multiple fronts. Like the feeling her of sitting in his lap, the sweet smell of her shampoo coming from her hair, along with the sight of her chest heaving up and down as she breathed. He'd tried his best not to become aroused by her and by some miracle he prevailed. No longer feeling the weight of Cinder in his lap. Jaune was about to stand up but stopped when he noticed his face was mear inches away from her rear end. "C-Cin," he stuttered.

Cinder turned her head, looked down and giggled when she realized that she had been standing right in front of him when she'd decided to stretch from sitting for so long. "Sorry Jaune," she said as she teasingly wiggled her hips once more before moving out of his way.

"I can't stand you sometimes," he told her sending a glare her way. Cinder giggled and stuck her tongue out. Letting out a sigh he turned to Ruby, "Did you like the movie?" he asked with his voice trailing off at the end when he saw her face. It looked like she was fiercely scowling, or what they assumed to be a fierce scowl, it's hard to look scary when you're an adorable thirteen-year-old. Anyway, it seemed to them that her ire was aimed at Cinder.

"Ruby?" Cinder asked, "What's wrong? Did I do something?"

"Yes!" she nearly shouted, while jumping out of her seat and poked Cinder's stomach with an accusing finger. "You've been sexually pestering Jaune during the entire movie!" she exclaimed in just under a yell gaining the attention of a few nearby people. "And to make matters worse," Ruby continued but lowered her voice when she noticed that some were beginning to stare at them, "you did this all in public." Ruby removed her finger and put both hands on her hips. "What was so fun about teasing him that you had to humiliate him public?" Cinder tried hard not laugh but seeing Ruby expression was really funny and cute. Once again, it's hard to be intimidating when you're super cute. Cinder glanced at Jaune with lustful eyes, he blushed once more and looked away. Cinder couldn't help but feel happy knowing that she could arouse Jaune.

"You're right Ruby it was," Cinder paused looking for the right word. " _Fun, thrilling, enjoyable, pleasant, stimulating,_ _ **electrifying**_ _. Whoa, calm down a little Cinder don't forget about the little girl right in front of you."_ "Inappropriate," she said after a short silence. "It was wrong of me to do something so shameful out in public." She wasn't lying it was a little embarrassing sitting and shifting in his lap where plenty of random people could see. However, that didn't make things less fun. A naughty smirk appeared on her face, as she grabbed a hold of Jaune's waist and pulled him closer. "I'll have to remember to keep moments like these more, _private_ ," she said with her voice filled seduction. Jaune and Ruby were at a loss for words. Sure Cinder had acted like this many times before but never out in an area where people could see. Cinder herself wasn't sure what caused her to be more adventurous today, maybe she was just going with the flow, but she definitely didn't mind it. It was fun to mix things up every now and then. Suddenly she heard Ruby growling.

Ruby then rushed forward and pushed the two apart, "That's enough!" she yelled. Luckily there was no one else there to see her outburst. She then grabbed Jaune by the wrist and stormed off stomping with every step. She then turned around to look at Cinder who stood there surprised by her sudden outburst, "Jaune and I will be at the arcade, you can come hang out with us when you've learned to keep it in your pants!" Ruby then continued to drag Jaune out of the theatre while ignoring his protests. Cinder stood there motionless as she processed what just happened. She then sat down in the chair next to her as a single thought formed in her head.

"What the fuck was that?"

* * *

 **Well that's end I hope you all enjoyed and I hope that answers some of your questions of whether or not Cinder likes Jaune. Anyway please leave a review as those are always welcome and I guess I'll see you all in the chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here is a new chapter for you guys to enjoy as always please leave a review so that I can sharpen my skills as a writer.**

* * *

"Grr," Ruby growled as she pulled the trigger on the plastic gun in her hands, violently firing at virtual enemies on the screen in front of her with Jaune by her side. Although, was he less into the game than she was.

"Ruby?" he asked slowly, "Are you okay?"

"I'd be better if you kept shooting Jaune!" she snapped which caused him to put down his gun and take a deep breath.

"Ruby," he said calmly as he pushed her gun away. "I think you need to talk to Cinder."

"I'll talk to her when she apologizes to us," she retorted before returning her attention back to the game only to find her character was now dead. "Dammit Jaune, look what happened." Jaune pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a small sigh.

"Okay if you won't talk to her then how about you talk to me, what's got you so riled up? Why are you so mad at Cin?" Ruby groaned and put down her gun.

"Jaune, do you think it's okay for Cinder to do things so lewd out in public just to get a rise out of you?"

"Well," Jaune paused as his face turned a shade of pink while scratching the back of his head. "I can't say yes but I can't say no either. You know that she and I were friends long before we met you, so I'm kinda used to her antics and I expect her to do things like this but that doesn't mean that they don't bother me as you saw in during the movie. However, I know that while she's showin' off and gettin' all handsy with me that she's only doing it for us to laugh and joke about it later and that she's not like other girls. Even though she likes using her, um, _charms_ ," he stated with a heavy blush making Ruby giggle a little bit. "To tease me she's not interested in sex."

" _You poor misguided fool,"_ Cinder thought as she watched the two in secret. " _But that innocence also makes you cute."_ She'd been spying on them for a few minutes now. Originally she came here to talk to Ruby about their episode in the theatre but honestly she had no clue what to say. Her mind would constantly return to the thought of Ruby _possibly_ have feelings Jaune. To Cinder, it was the only thing that made sense as to why Ruby got so upset at her flirting with Jaune. However, every time that thought came to mind Cinder would shake it from her head believing it to not be true and that Ruby did not have feelings for Jaune and if she did she would've told Cinder. When she couldn't stand to have _that_ thought in her head anymore she decided to just go talk to Ruby and put the question that plagued her mind to bed. However the moment she saw the two Cinder froze. She couldn't just go ever there and simply ask Ruby if she liked Jaune, she'd have to apologize first and work her way towards that topic. She was in need of a plan.

* * *

"Yeah but two but sitting on your lap for two _hours_ while in public," Ruby responded. "Don't you think that's a little much?"

"Well, maybe but Ruby you still haven't told me why you're so upset this."

"Um, it-it's just that," Ruby stammered with dark red cheeks, "you two aren't dating so it gives some people the wrong impression plus we were in a movie theatre and you've heard all the stories of people doing it in those kinds of places. So you know someone could've looked over at you guys and thought you having, having," Ruby repeated as her face grew even darker.

"Sex?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah, that," she said with a sigh. Jaune raised an eyebrow wondering why she would get so flustered mentioning the word "sex" until he heard a voice call out.

"Ruby," Cinder called softly. "Can we talk?" she asked, her eyes flicking back and forth between Jaune and Ruby. "In private?" Ruby turned and looked at Jaune, who gestured for her to go, before looking back at Cinder.

"Fine, I'll go," she said as she followed Cinder to a faraway table. Once they sat down Cinder spoke.

"I wanna say that I'm sorry. What I did truly was inappropriate and very disrespectful to the people I call my best friends, and that's not cool."

Ruby stayed silent for a moment before letting out a sigh, "Look I get it you like to tease Jaune because you guys know that it's just a joke but sometimes it goes too far. If someone saw you two the three of us could've been kicked out."

"Yeah I know and I'm sorry Ruby," a small smile formed on Cinder's face, "and as part of my apology, I'm willing to buy a month's worth of cookies."

Ruby smirked as she cupped her chin, "You sure because I can eat a _lot_ of cookies?"

"I'm prepared to pay any price."

"Hmm, I don't know, pretty sure I can Jaune to make me a month's worth of cookies if I use Zwei."

Cinder let out a soft sigh and chuckled, "How about I give you some of Jaune's childhood pictures as well?"

Ruby's eyes lit up instantly, "You know where they are?!"

"Keep your voice down," Cinder whispered.

"Sorry," Ruby said returning her voice to a normal volume. "You know where they are?" Cinder nodded, "How?"

"I saw him and Kerberos bury them not far from his house. If I get you some pictures you'll forgive me?" Ruby didn't say anything instead she bolted to Cinder's side nearly knocking over the older girl with a hug tackle.

"I forgive you Cinder let's never fight again," Ruby said excitedly.

"Sure Ruby, just no more hug tackles okay?" Cinder said as she returned the young girl's hug.

"Sorry," Ruby replied giggling, "sometimes I can't help it," she said while tightening her hold on Cinder. Cinder did the same and sprung her plan into action.

"Ruby," Cinder called causing the younger girl to look up at her. "Do you," Cinder began but paused due to fear. " _No, say it, don't choke like last time just say it."_ Cinder told herself. "Do you," " _Don't choke,"_ her mind said once more as she looked into Ruby's silver eyes. "Do you wanna go a few rounds on MotorX?"

"Sure, I wouldn't mind kicking your butt in some MotorX let's go grab Jaune," Ruby said as she let go of Cinder and began to look for Jaune.

Cinder hung her head in shame and let out of a sigh of despair. No matter how hard she tried she just couldn't ask Ruby that question. She wanted to know Ruby's answer so that she could put these thoughts to bed. Yet at the same time, she didn't want to know Ruby's answer, because what if Ruby said "yes"? What would happen to them, to their friendship? Would the two of them stop being friends? Would she chase Ruby away from Jaune? Would she try to steal Jaune out from under Ruby? She didn't know and she didn't want to know, at least, not yet.

Getting up from her seat Cinder calmed herself and went to look for Ruby and Jaune. After a few moments of walking around, she found Ruby who seemed to be standing in place with her head tilted to the right. "Ruby?" Cinder called as she got closer to the young girl. "Ruby, why are you just standing here?" Ruby said nothing instead she pointed at something in the distance. Following Ruby's pointed finger she saw what made the girl freeze up. Jaune was sitting at a table looking fairly embarrassed while a small girl with brown and pink hair was sitting awfully close to him. Way too close for Cinder's liking.

"Cinder," Ruby finally spoke, "who the fuck is that?" she said coldly. Cinder had a sinking feeling that she already knew the answer but was really hoping that she was wrong.

"Don't know but, why don't we go see?" she told Ruby as she made her towards the two with Ruby following close behind.

As they got closer they began to hear a part Jaune and the girl's conversation. "Um, n-no I don't have a girlfriend," Jaune stammered as he scooted away from the girl only for her to close to the gap between again. The girl then pulled out her scroll and began to type something before showing him. "Uh, t-thanks, I guess but I'm not sure if I'm really boyfriend material."

"Neo," Cinder called in a stern voice. The girl turned to look at Cinder before smirking. She waved at her and wrapped a hand around Jaune's arm making his face a darker shade of red.

She typed something on her scroll before showing Cinder, "Hey Cinder what are you doing here?" The girl, now known as Neo, was dressed in a white cargo jacket that had a few ice cream and pastel goth pins on the breast pockets. Underneath the jacket was a pink shirt with the words "Devilishly Sweet" printed in black. On her legs were a pair of brown leggings with white bats underneath pink short shorts with white combat boots.

"I'm here hanging out with my friends," Cinder retorted as she pointed a finger at Jaune. "Like the one you have next to you. Now if you don't mind I'll be taking him back."

She typed something new on her scroll and showed it to Cinder and then Jaune, "Don't be like that Cinder I'm sure we can all be friends, isn't that right handsome?" Cinder glared daggers at Neo until Jaune spoke.

"Yeah Cin, we can all get along Neo doesn't seem that bad," he told her. Cinder gaze softened before turning her glare to Jaune for even suggesting that they befriend another girl.

"Well, she is that bad Jaune. Neo is a vile little troll that takes pleasure in the misery of others," she explained in a frustrated tone.

"No it's just your misery," said Neo's scroll making Cinder glare even harder at her. "And maybe the cute blond here too but for right now can't we just get along _Cin_?"

"Only he can call me that!" Cinder snapped, "And no we can't get along."

"Hey, Cin just give her chance," Jaune suggested. "Neo's nice a bit of a trickster but still nice." Neo was slightly taken aback by Jaune's comment not many people wanted to be close to her so hearing him say that he wanted to be friends made her feel a little warm inside. She tightened her hold on Jaune and turned back to Cinder with an evil smirk. Cinder face palmed as she tried to get Jaune to understand just how bad of an idea this was but, she didn't think he was going to budge on this.

" _Damn your kindness,"_ Cinder mentally cursed. "Fine," she said while sighing. "She can hang with us, but only for a little while." A small smile crept onto Jaune's face, Cinder gushed inwardly until she felt something pull on her arm. Looking down she saw that it was Ruby who wasn't looking too happy right now. "Um, excuse us for just a moment," she said as she and Ruby took a few steps back.

"What the hell?" Ruby whispered. "I thought we were trying to get rid of her."

"I know but Jaune won't budge on this." Ruby crossed her arms and glared. "Hey I don't like either but we're gonna have to put up with her for a bit okay?" Ruby groaned as she moved some hair out of her eyes.

"Why does she talk with her scroll?"

"She's mute," Cinder answered, before walking back over to Jaune and Neo. Ruby sat across from Jaune and Cinder sat next to her causing to Neo raise an eyebrow.

"Who's the runt, your little sister?" said her scroll when she showed it to Cinder. Ruby looked to see what was written and her jaw dropped at the comment.

"Runt?!" she exclaimed glaring daggers at Neo. "Who the hell are you calling runt I'm taller than you!"

"How, quite the mouth on the little one," Neo's scroll said as she smirked at Ruby. Ruby growled before sliding past Cinder and out of the booth.

"Let's settle this," she said while taking off her boots. "We're gonna see the who the real runt is."

"Ruby, don't you think this is a little childish?" Jaune asked. Ruby shot him a glare before continuing to remove her boots. Neo shrugged and removed her shoes as well before sliding out of the booth. Ruby's glare turned into a look of shock and embarrassment when she saw Neo was, in fact, taller than her.

"Now, what were you saying, _runt_?" said Neo's scroll as she covered her mouth silently laughing with a smug smile. Ruby looked down at her feet to hide her embarrassment when she suddenly noticed something off about Neo's feet. A loud gasp came from Ruby's mouth when she looked up at Neo before glaring at her once more.

"You're cheating! You're standing on your tippy toes!" Ruby exclaimed while pointing an accusing finger at the multi-colored girl causing Neo to take a step back in surprise.

Cinder let out a faux gasp, "Oh my, how shameful," she said trying hard to hold back her laughter.

Jaune shook his head and sighed, "All right guys let's stop this, people are starting to stare."

"Not until I prove that this pastel punk is the real shorty around here," Ruby stated with determination.

"Yeah tell her Ruby," Cinder cheered as she tried even harder to hold in her laughter.

"Once more and this time no cheating," Ruby declared while Jaune let out a groan and dragged a hand across his face. Neo scowled in embarrassment before lowering her heels. The two stood back to back when Ruby spoke, "All right Jaune tell us which one is taller." Jaune sighed once more before getting up from his seat. He placed a hand on top of Ruby's head and slid over to Neo's.

"Congratulations Ruby you are," he paused as he measured their height difference, "about half an inch taller than Neo."

"Yes!" Ruby cheered as her arms pumped into the air. Neo fell to her knees with a look of horror causing Cinder to finally break out into a fit of laughter. " _I can't believe it,"_ Neo thought, " _I'm shorter than a child."_ As these thoughts filled her mind a pair of feet entered her line of sight pulling her back to reality. Looking up she saw Ruby looking down at her with a smug smile, "Now remind me, who's the _runt_ around here again, huh _shorty_?" Neo began to shake with anger and was just about to pounce on Ruby when she heard the young girl yelp in pain. "Ow!" Ruby yelped as she rubbed a spot on her forehead. "Jaune," she whined, "what was that for?"

"To get your attention," he told her. "I understand that the both of you are insecure about your height but that doesn't mean you have to fight over it. We're all borderline adults here, and that goes for you too Neo," he said looking at the multicolored girl "You shouldn't be picking fights with someone younger than you just because they said something about your height." Neo looked if as she wanted to say or rather type something but decided not to when she saw the authoritative glare he was giving the both of them. Both girls let out a sigh of defeat before apologizing to each other.

Ruby extended a hand to Neo, "I'm sorry for calling you a pastel punk and being all smug about being taller," said Ruby as she averted her eyes in embarrassment. Neo accept her hand and let Ruby pull her up. She then took out her scroll and began typing.

"I'm sorry for starting this mess, and Jaune here is right I shouldn't be picking fights with someone just because of our height differences especially with, an eleven-year-old?" asked Neo's scroll.

"Thirteen," Ruby answered.

"Sorry," Neo typed.

"Good," Jaune chimed, "now we can all be friends, right Cin?" he asked looking back at her.

Cinder calmed down her laughter and scoffed, "Pfft, as if."

"Just give her some time," Jaune said in response. "Now who wants to go play video games?" Ruby brightened up instantly.

"Cinder and wanted to play MotorX why don't we all go?" Ruby said excitedly. They all turned to Cinder expectedly.

Cinder took a deep breath before speaking, "Yeah we can go play," she said while getting up from her seat. Ruby rushed over to the racing consoles while others leisurely followed behind her. Climbing onto the first motorcycle Ruby put in a coin and waited for the others. Neo arrived next and climbed onto the second motorcycle and placed a coin in the machine. After selecting the two player mode and choosing the track their race began, while Jaune and Cinder stood back and watched.

"So, what did you say to Ruby?" Jaune asked with folded arms. He glanced at Cinder before returning is his attention to the screen.

"Nothing of note really," she replied as she moved a few strands of hair out of her eyes. "I told her I was sorry and then we had a bit of girl talk."

"That was it?" he wondered.

"That was it," she repeated. He narrowed his eyes at her for a moment before speaking.

"Okay then," he said letting out a deep breath. "So what was with all the teasing earlier?" he wondered.

"Just some harmless fun," she answered without looking at him.

"That didn't seem _harmless_ to me. I know you like to tease me but that seemed a little over the top."

"Well don't worry about it Jaune, I won't be sitting in your lap anytime soon," she told him. A small smile crept onto to Jaune's face he opened his mouth to speak but was cut off, "In public that is," she added while bumping his hips with hers. Cinder giggled at his now stunned expression before he relaxed.

"Really Cin, be serious," he told her with an annoyed look on his face.

" _I am,"_ she thought. "Sorry I couldn't resist," she said. He let out a sigh before joining in on her laughter.

"Fine," he said after regaining his composure, "just not when others are around, I don't want you giving Ruby an aneurysm."

"Oh?" she remarked with a raised eyebrow and seductive smirk, "Are you saying that you want me to sit on you?" she asked leaning forward. Jaune reeled back a bit putting some space between him and Cinder with a tomato red face.

"Dammit Cin you know what I meant," he told her in a voice filled with annoyance. Cinder giggled once more.

"Sorry, sorry, you're just too much to fun to tease," she explained while clutching her stomach.

"Aw, dammit!" they heard Ruby yell. Looking back at the screen they could see that Ruby's placement in the race was fourth, before looking at Neo's screen which read "1st place Winner!". While Ruby sulked Neo giggled silently with a smug smile. "Rematch," Ruby demanded pointing at Neo.

"Wait a sec' Ruby," Cinder spoke. "I called next on our way here." Ruby sighed and hung her head in defeat before getting off the motorcycle while grumbling. She stood next to Jaune while Cinder got on the motorcycle. Cinder flashed a competitive glare at Neo, who glared back, before getting ready to race.

"You okay Ruby?" Jaune asked.

"No," she spat still annoyed by her loss, "I shouldn't have lost. I was in first for most of the race and then just before the finish line she speeds right past me. It's bullshit I tell you!"

"Calm down Ruby you'll have your revenge soon enough," he said as he ruffled her hair. Ruby's frown lightened but her frustration still showed. The two were silent for a moment as Ruby fixed her hair until she spoke up.

"So," she paused and shifted awkwardly, "I heard you and Cinder talking back here, were you guys talking about?"

"Not much, we just laughed and joked," he answered.

"Really that was it?"

"Yeah, that was it. Why? Were you expecting something else?"

"No, just curious is all." Jaune nodded in response and returned his attention back to Cinder and Neo, while Ruby shifted awkwardly and took a few steps closer to the Jaune and rested her head on his arm.

An hour passed, and during that time the trio was having an easier time around Neo as they all laughed, joked and played games in the arcade. Jaune had no real problems with Neo, although he did find her teasing to be a bit annoying as it reminded him of the way Cinder would tease him and he didn't need two of her. Cinder dropped her guard slightly as she got a little more used to Neo although her mood would darken when she'd try to harass Jaune. While Ruby was happy to have found someone, that wasn't Alyson or Julie, that shared her love of sweets and annoyances of being under five feet tall. Alas, all good things come to an end as the trio had to say goodbye to Neo, apparently, her uncle had called to her come home for something important. Jaune exchanged his scroll number with her while Cinder gave the girl a short wave goodbye before walking to her car, and Ruby gave her a goodbye hug before running off after Cinder. "I'll see you at school blondie," Neo typed, "okay?"

"Yeah sure, come hang out with me whenever you'd like," Jaune said as he watched her get into what he presumed to be her uncle's car. When the car pulled off he turned to go find Cinder and Ruby but stopped when another car pulled up beside him. A sense of deja vu washed over him before a smirk crept onto his face as he opened the car door. "So where are we headed?" he asked the girls.

"To Ruby's place," Cinder answered as she drove out of the parking lot.

It was around nine o'clock when they arrived at Ruby's house and Ruby was the first to get out the car. She was halfway to her front door when noticing that the other two were still in the car. She jogged back to the car and Cinder rolled down her window. "What the heck are you guys doing?" she wondered.

"We'll wait here, and you can just let us know if you're coming back or not," said Cinder.

"What? No, come on come in and say hi."

"I think it'll be okay if we just stay here Ruby," Jaune reasoned, which caused Ruby to glare at him.

"Jaune unlike Cinder, you've never met my dad so you have to come with me so that you guys can get to know each other." Jaune shared a look with Cinder. She didn't say anything but her eyes told him to go. Suppressing a sigh he unbuckled his seatbelt, got out of the car and walked with Ruby to her front porch. Ruby rang the doorbell and a few moments later they heard the sound of a door unlocking. The door then opened to reveal a tall blond man baring a small resemble to Yang. The man was dressed in white undershirt and brown shorts. "Hi, dad!" Ruby exclaimed as she tightly embraced her father.

"Hey Ruby," he replied as he hugged her back. His eyes then drifted over to Jaune and widened in shock, and a little bit of recognition. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh," Ruby said as she let go of him and took a step back. "This is my best friend Jaune, you know the one Yang likes to talk about."

"Ah," her father said and stuck out his hand, which Jaune took hold of. "So you're the infamous Jaune. My daughters talk a lot about you."

"Uh, yeah," Jaune responded awkwardly as he wasn't really sure how to respond to that.

"Come in, come in," he said as he ushered them inside. "So Jaune what brings you here," her father asked as they walked into the living room, "other bringing Ruby home of course, and why did it take so long for us to meet?"

Jaune awkwardly scratched the back of his head, "Um, well sir I'm not really sure about that last one but that's the reason I'm here now as Ruby thought it was long past the time for us meet each other."

"Yep," Ruby chimed. "Also dad I wanted to ask if it was okay if I spent the night over Jaune's house." Her father opened his mouth to speak but Ruby cut him off, "Please," she begged. "Jaune's not gonna try anything plus there'll be other people there so it'll be like a slumber party."

He sighed but judging by the soft smile on his face it didn't seem to be from annoyance. "I'll think about it just give me a few minutes with Jaune."

"Fine but don't listen to what Yang says about him, most of them are lies," she told him as she headed off to her room. Her father then turned towards Jaune and narrowed his eyes at the boy. However, Jaune wasn't scared, nervous, but he wasn't scared. Jaune looked him over, he was a few inches taller than himself and was much more muscular. Not that any of it mattered to Jaune as he'd taken many that two or three times his size. No, the only problem was that Jaune remembered Ruby telling him that her dad was ex-military, and while Jaune had fought ex-militants before that didn't mean he liked the idea of going up against one, especially when they happened to be the father of one his best friends. While there may have not been a reason for him to be scared he was still nervous, not just about meeting Ruby's father for the first time, but also not knowing how to defuse the situation in case her father lost his temper. The last thing Jaune wanted was for Ruby to see the two trading blows. He wished Cinder was here, she was better at diplomacy than he was. The man's stare hardened and Jaune couldn't help return it with a hard stare of his own. Then the unthinkable happened.

The man started snickering. Soon that snicker turned into full-blown laughter. Jaune was utterly perplexed. " _Is this guy for real?"_ he wondered. After all, the man had been glaring at him silently for two minutes, and then he just started laughing.

"Oh man," her father said as his laughter died down. "You really are his son." Jaune was clearly taken aback by this, a look of shock and disbelief were plastered to his face. "Relax kid," he chimed as he patted Jaune on the shoulder. "I'm just messin' ya'."

"That was, some kind of test?" Jaune asked slowly.

"Not really I just wanted to see how you'd react to me glaring you," he explained. "You're a lot like your old man you know?" Hearing that made Jaune's stomach turn and his blood boil but Jaune's face remained neutral.

"How so?"

The man chuckled before explaining, "Guys _my_ age would've pissed themselves from me glaring at them like that, but you? You didn't blink at all kid, like you didn't even care, just like your dad."

" _Oh. That's what he meant,"_ Jaune thought. "Wait how do you know my dad?"

"Back when I was in the military my squad did a lot of missions in conjunction with's your grandpa's company and your dad happened to be on one of the teams my squad often got paired up with. So after a few missions together we became quick friends."

"I see," was Jaune could say. The story made sense since Jaune's father had been working for his grandfather's private military corporation before Jaune was even born. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Ruby's dad whistle.

"Man you've gotten big since that last time I saw you," and for the second time in just a few short minutes, Jaune was once again utterly perplexed. Reading the look on his face Ruby's father elaborated, "I met you once when you were about five or six. Your mom wanted a play date between you and Yang and wouldn't take no for answer." Hey, look more surprises for Jaune's brain to process. "So we went over there and she showed you off and," another chuckle escaped his lips, "let's just say I know you had a bit of a rough childhood. Especially when being forced into those kinds of clothes"

" _What the hell is he talking about? What cloth-,"_ Jaune's train of thought was cut off by the sudden realization, " _Oh. Oooh. Oh, no."_ "Uh, sir."

"Call me Tai," Tai said with a hand held up.

"Tai right. Um, Tai, you wouldn't happen to be talking about," Jaune paused as he looked around to make sure no one was listening to them but stopped when he looked back at Tai, the sympathetic look on Tai's face was all the conformation Jaune needed.

"Yeah," Tai sighed, "you looked miserable."

" _I was,"_ Jaune somehow managed to refrain from saying. "You mind if we refrain from speaking about my childhood?" Tai smiled and nodded and Jaune could help but return it with a small smile of his own. Just then they heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Hey, dad," a familiar female voice called out.

" _Oh no,"_ Jaune and Tai stated mentally.

"Do you know when Ruby's coming home?" the question died in the girl's throat when she laid eyes on Jaune. "What is he doing here?!" she growled.

"Hey Yang," Jaune said dryly while waving at her.

"Get out of our house you creep!" Yang roared.

"Whoa, Yang calm down," Tai demanded.

"But dad he shouldn't be here, he's dangerous!"

"Yang!" Tai barked. Yang stiffened at his voice before relaxing and turning her attention to the floor. "Yang I understand that you worry about your sister but you need to know that you're not the only one looking out for her, Jaune is too. I know what you think of him, but he's not a bad kid."

"How would you know you haven't met him until today?" Yang exclaimed. She wanted to say more but was stopped short by Tai's fierce glare.

"I know he's not a bad guy because of I'm friends with his parents, I've also met some of his sisters but most of all I listen to Ruby when she tells me stories about her and her friends. So I know enough about him to know that he isn't a bad guy." Yang let out a deep breath through her nose and folded her arms as she was trying really hard not to brashly object to her father's views. "Ruby," he called. Ruby's head peeked out from behind a wall.

"Yeah dad?" she asked.

"You still want to spend the weekend at Jaune's place don't you?" Ruby gasped sharply and squealed in joy before rushing over to her father with a bear hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed in excitement. Tai chuckled as he reached down and ruffled her hair.

"What?!" Yang shrieked, so loudly that their faces cringed in pain as they covered their ears. "You're letting her go with him?! You're letting. Ruby. Spend the weekend. At a _boy's_ house?!"

"Ow," Tai groaned as he rubbed his ear, "Yes, she's going and so are you."

"What?!" the three teens questioned.

"Yes you are going with them and no this is not up for debate, now go get packed," he ordered. Yang groaned loudly and stomped upstairs to her room. "You too Ruby go pack some clothes for the weekend."

"Oh I already did," she told him pointing at the backpack she was caring. "I was just waiting for you to say the word."

"Okay, then why don't you go outside and wait for a second."

"Okay," Ruby replied before heading towards the front door. When the door closed behind her Tai turned back to Jaune.

"Hey, sorry for springing this on you suddenly but I figured that this would be good for Yang to see first hand what kind of person you are so that she'll stop hounding you." Jaune nodded in response and opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Tai holding up his hand. "I'm not done yet. I also wanted to say thank you for not abanding Ruby despite Yang's numerous threats and thank you what you and Cinder have done for Ruby. If not for you two I'm not sure what would've happened to her."

"Uh, um, I," Jaune stammered not having a clue on what to say. He was embarrassed from getting such praise and felt that his actions were a little over exaggerated. "Y-you're welcome but you don't need to thank us, we were just being good friends that's all nothing too special."

"That's why I want to thank you for being such good friends to Ruby when she was going through such a hard time. It's another thing that reminds me of your dad, always helping out his friends no matter what." While hearing that he was similar to his father pissed him off, Jaune decided to let this one slide. If there was anything that he didn't mind having in common with his father it was his willingness to always help friends in need. When they heard footsteps coming down the stairs they turned to see Yang who sneered when she looked at Jaune and made her way to the door.

"Bye dad," she said dryly.

"Bye Yang," he replied.

"I should probably go," Jaune said as he walked towards the door. "It was nice meeting you."

"Yeah, same here kid," Tai said as stuck his hand out once more, Jaune shook his hand again before leaving.

When he climbed back into Cinder's car he could tell that she was not happy. "Seriously not my fault," he told her. She rolled her eyes and silently shifted gears before pulling out of the driveway. Jaune sighed knowing that this was going to be a long and awkward ride home.

* * *

 **So that's the end of this chapter let me know what you guys thought about it and if I made any mistakes here at all and I'll see you guys next time.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, everyone, it's been a while and I'm sorry about that. Part of the reason was that this chapter took so long was because it was little hard to write as it underwent two rewrites, and I'd even planned on where to end the chapter but had no clue on how to get there. So I scrapped that idea and decided to just put in what would most likely be the next chapter since putting in this one would make it too long. Another reason, was just pure laziness, no need for further explanation. The third and quite possibly the main was rewriting the summary. I got a review a while back telling me that the summary was way too basic and that it told you little to nothing about the story. And since I absolutely suck at writing summaries that took me a while. Seriously I had this chapter finished and sitting in my doc manager for a few days while I continued to come up with a better summary. Let me know if you guys like the new summary or if still needs work. Anyway, I'm done taking up your time on to the new chapter.**

* * *

"-une? Jaune?!" Jaune jolted slightly he when he'd been pulled back to reality. During the ride home Jaune had been too focused on what to do with Yang. With her spending an entire weekend at his place she was bound to be unruly, well at least more than usual, and he knew his sisters would just make the situation worse.

"I'm sorry what?" he asked wiping his tired eyes.

"I said we're here," said Cinder. "Come on let's go." He nodded in response and got out the car.

"Whoa," Yang said in amazement. She stood in Jaune's front yard staring at the large two-story manor that he called home. "You live in that?!"

"Of course he does Yang," said Ruby in a bored tone as if the whole town knew of Jaune's wealth. "Don't tell me you didn't know that Jaune was rich?" Yang looked away from her sister and sheepishly scratched her head. Ruby put a hand on her hip, "Really?"

"Well, Ruby, Jaune along with the rest of the Arcs, don't like talking about their financial success. So it's not much of a surprise that Yang doesn't know that Jaune's rich. In fact, I'm willing to bet that the majority of Vale doesn't know about the Arc's are technically aristocrats," Cinder explained as she walked past the two. "Anyway, let's go in before one of Jaune's sisters see us." Ruby froze for a moment before grabbing Yang's hand rushing towards the door.

"Yang we gotta move, if Jaune's sisters see you now we'll never hear the end of it!"

"Ruby slow down!" Yang cried as she struggled to keep up with the speedy young girl that was currently dragging Yang with all her might. Ruby ignored her sister and kept running until she reached the door where she frantically waited for Jaune and Cinder.

"Yang, when we get in there can you please behave? You don't have to be all buddy-buddy with him but could you at least pretend like you don't wanna break his nose."

Yang rolled her eyes and sighed, "Fine, I'll behave but if he says or does anything to me, or if something happens to you, I'm breaking his legs, Ruby."

"No!" Ruby shouted before covering up her mouth and glancing at the door. No noises came from the other side causing to her let out a sigh of relief. "No," she said in a much quieter tone. "Yang you can't start a fight with Jaune."

"Why not? Are you afraid of what I'll do to him?" Yang joked.

"No," Ruby scoffed, "Jaune could take you if he wanted to." That actually hurt a little. Yang knew Jaune was strong due to him seemingly having a perfect fight record at the school, but to think Ruby had little faith Yang's ability to handle herself against him was a little disheartening. "But that's not the problem," Ruby continued. "The problem is his sisters if they see you picking a fight with him. They'll go into," Ruby paused as the color drained from her face. "Protection mode," she whispered, "and with Cinder here, who knows what she might do."

"I think you're overreacting Ruby."

"Trust me, she is _not_ overreacting," said Cinder surprising the sisters. She then stepped forward into Yang's personal space glaring fiercely at the blond brawler. Yang tried to back away but Cinder continued to follow her until her back pressed against a wall. "Listen, Xiao Long, I don't care if you're Ruby's sister or not, if you do _anything_ to Jaune I will bring _all_ of hell crashing down on you, understand?" Yang was starting to reconsider her statement about Ruby overreacting. Like Jaune, Cinder also had a reputation at the school. However, unlike Jaune who had a more physical and personal approach with those who tried picking fights with him, Cinder was more, mysterious.

Now no one could ever prove this but, every time someone had crossed her or her group and Jaune had yet to put them in their place they'd always mysteriously go missing. Not forever mind you, just for three or four days, long enough for news about their disappearance to circulate and for people to start asking questions. Afterward, they would mysteriously show up again. Some would show up with a few bruises, others might reappear in the hospital, and some with no, _physical_ scarring although but would return a twitchy and mumbling mess before moving somewhere far away soon after. However, one common factor was that whenever these people reappeared they'd always make it their mission to avoid the trio at any cost. Now everyone had their suspicions firmly placed on Cinder, but since no one could ever prove that she had a hand in it so no said anything. Although even _if_ they could prove her connection to it they'd probably disappear as well long before they say anything.

"Cinder wait!" Ruby exclaimed as she grabbed hold of her waist futilely trying to pull Cinder away from her sister. "Yang won't do anything stupid, right Yang?" Yang furiously nodded her head, but Cinder kept her glare focused on the blond. Just then Cinder jolted slightly when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Cin," Jaune said softly. "Chill out." Cinder glanced back at him silently asking if he was serious. Jaune marginally narrowed his eyes at her giving her his answer. Cinder looked back at Yang with one final glare before reluctantly stepping away from her. Jaune cast a glance at Yang before unlocking the door and leading them all inside. "My room's upstairs you guys head there while I make us something to eat."

"Jaune may I speak with you for a moment?" asked a womanly voice.

"Shit," Jaune silently mouthed when he heard his mother's voice. He turned around and sheepishly smiled at her. "Hey mom," he began but was cut off by his mother.

"Yang," Rayna called causing the young girl to go stiff as a board. "I'd like to speak with you as well. Oh, and Ruby," she called turning to the young girl with a smile.

"Y-yes ma'am?" Ruby replied nervously.

"In the kitchen, there's a jar of cookies with your name on it," Rayna explained before leaving the main entranceway. Ruby rushed into the kitchen while Jaune sighed and motioned for Yang to follow him.

"Um, are we in trouble?" Yang whispered when she caught up to Jaune.

"I don't think so," he whispered back, "but just try to stay calm." Upon entering the living room the teens found Rayna sitting in an armchair. The teens sat on the sectional couch opposite of her, sitting a few paces away from each other.

"Yang," his mother began, "from what Tai has told me you and Jaune don't get along very well, and in order to fix that he's sent you to stay the weekend at our house. So, in order for you to understand each other, you and Jaune will be together at all times, where one goes the other follows. Am I understood."

Yang fidgetted in her seat a little while glancing at Jaune. Jaune glanced back before nodding at his mother, "Right, we understand and we'll try to get along. Isn't that right Yang?"

"Um," Yang took one final glance at Jaune who turned away from her. She hung her head in frustration and sighed before giving her answer. "Y-yeah I understand Mrs. Arc, Jaune and I will try to get along during the weekend."

Rayna clapped her hands together and smile, "Excellent," she said excitedly. She then stood from her chair and walked over to them, "By the end of the weekend I'm sure the two of you will be good friends, isn't that right Jaune?" Jaune laughed and fidgetted nervously under her gaze. The look she was giving him clearly said that he and Yang would be friends by Monday or else.

"Yeah, sure thing mom," he said nervously.

"Great," she replied. "Well, I'll leave you kids alone now," and with that, his mother left the room. Jaune ran a hand through his hair and said in relief. He then stood from his seat and began to walk out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Yang asked as she began to stand up as well.

"The kitchen," he answered. "I know Ruby's gonna want another batch of cookies and Cin's probably hungry as well." Jaune stopped and turned back to look at Yang, "What about you? Are you hungry, would you," he paused, "like me to make something for you as well?" Yang's stomach growled at his offer of food. "I'll take that as a yes." When they walked into the kitchen Jaune pointed at a nearby stool for her to sit on, while he began to grab the ingredients to make another batch of cookies.

Yang silently watched Jaune mix ingredients for a few minutes while she squirmed awkwardly in the chair. She tried to make conversation but didn't really know what to say and it was starting to aggravate her. Yang was not at all like this. She was a talkative fun loving extroverted girl who was kind and friendly to almost everyone. Not some scaredy cat who couldn't start just one simple conversation. " _Say something,"_ she told herself. " _Say anything. Just fucking say something!"_ Jaune jolted slightly and looked back at with confusion on his face. Perhaps that last part actually came from her mouth and not her mind.

"What, do you want to me say?" he asked slowly as he was still recovering from her little outburst and was unsure of what to do next.

"Uh, um, well anything I guess," she suggested. "Look, I'm tired of sitting here in awkward silence."

"Oh, well, uh is there anything in particular that you'd like to eat?"

"N-no not really."

"I see," he said with a nod and before turning back around. " _This is good,"_ she told herself. " _We're talking that's, **some** progress made, just need to tread carefully to avoid unnecessary conflict."_ Yang gulped at the memory of Cinder's threat. "So, your mom, she's uh. She's kind of scary right?"

"Y-yeah she, can be," Jaune replied as he began to prep another dish, what it was Yang had no clue. Another awkward silence washed over them causing Yang to deflate a little.

" _Well, that was a bust. Trying something else, like Ruby? No, too hot of a topic right now. What do I say?"_ "H-hey, um y-you and Cinder how long has that been going on?"

"Oh, we've been friends for about, eight years now," Jaune answered without so much as a glance at her.

"Oh, you two are just friends?"

"Yeah. Wait did you think that we were dating?" Jaune turned back at her with a raised eyebrow and a pink tint on his cheeks. Yang shrugged. "Why?"

"I always saw you guys together and I knew that Ruby didn't have a boyfriend so I just kinda thought," Yang paused, "you know."

"Well we're not, Cin and I don't look at each other that way."

* * *

"Ugh," Cinder groaned as she doubled over clutching her stomach in pain. There was a sudden pain in her abdomen and it felt like someone had just run her through with a sword. However, just before the pain started she could've sworn she saw a woman with red hair, green eyes, and armor resembling old spartan armies. _"Did I just get stabbed by the embodiment of the_ friend zone?" she wondered. _"I should kill that bitch. I've heard that blessed flaming arrows work well on non-corporeal beings. I'll have Emerald acquire some for me."_

* * *

"She and I have been friends for too long." Although that didn't mean that he didn't take a few glances at certain body parts of hers every now and again, though he did always regret it afterward. " _Damn you hormones."_ "We're comfortable with our current relationship."

* * *

It happened again! Cinder was just starting to recover from her earlier non-corporeal stabbing when _that_ red-headed _bitch_ appeared stabbing her a second time. _"Mark my words bitch! Your death will be more painful than the birth of my future child!"_

* * *

"I see," Yang replied. Jaune turned back around as if signaling the end of the conversation. " _Not good,"_ Yang thought as she desperately tried to think of a new topic to keep the awkward silence at bay. Meanwhile, Jaune stepped towards the refrigerator, opened it up and cursed softly before dragging a hand down his face. This caught Yang's attention, "What's wrong?"

"We're out of cheesecake," he sighed. "Dammit Jasmine," he cursed softly. "Now I have to make another."

"Why's this such a big deal?" Yang wondered.

"Because Cin's gonna be pissed if she finds out that there's none left." He cast a glance at Yang and saw the gesture she made. She still wasn't understanding why this was a problem. "You've how Ruby get's where there aren't any cookies around right?" Yang nodded. That girl could cause a nuclear meltdown if no one would give her cookies. "Cinder's the same when it comes to cheesecake except she's more violent." Yang gave a soft "oh" as a reply. "Yeah," Jaune said as he pulled out the things he needed for a cheesecake along with a few other things.

"Geez getting upset over things like cheesecakes and cookies, are you guys sure you're goths? Because you don't really act like it."

Jaune chuckled, "What, you think we just sit dark corners, smoke and complain all day, or that we worship monsters and demons and like to call upon the dead?" Yang shrugged. "Those are stereotypes. Yeah, goths that do those things exist but they're far and few in between and the ones that complain all day tend to bitch about the little things, while the others are usually weekend occultist. Hell, even gothic fashion is a little bit of a stereotype. Unlike most cliques, goths don't really have rules on what to do or how to act other than the obvious acceptance of the darker side of life." Jaune paused for a moment and let out a soft sigh. "Well, you can't go through life wholeheartedly believing it's nothing but sunshine and rainbows or act like a spoiled brat, nor can you take everything you see or hear at face value. But other than those three I guess there are no real rules so basically anyone can be a goth."

"That's it?" she wondered. "You don't need to wear all black or have a bunch of piercings or tattoos?"

"Yeah, I mean pastel goths exist, goths that wear bright colors," he quickly added when he saw that Yang had no clue what pastel goths were. "As for piercings and tattoos, you can get them if you'd like but you don't _have_ to. Like I said there are no real rules to being a goth we all kinda do what we want."

"Wow, I never saw it that way."

"Most people don't," Jaune finished with a small smile then went back to preparing their food leading to a comfortable silence between the two. However, it couldn't last. As much as Yang wanted to avoid what was sure to be a heated argument about her sister, she knew they'd have to talk about it eventually.

Steeling her nerves Yang spoke, "Hey, Jaune?" Jaune hummed in response. "Why are you friends with Ruby?" Jaune stopped moving. A lump formed in Yang's throat as her heartbeat slowly increased she couldn't help but feel as she just stepped on a landmine.

"Why do you try to push me away from her?" he retorted calmly.

"Because you're dangerous," she replied her voice raising slightly.

"There's more to it than that," he told her as he continued his earlier movements. "I know you care about her and I won't fault you for that, and yes I do agree with you. I am dangerous, but I'm not a danger to Ruby. I would _never_ harm her."

"Maybe not intentionally, but you're actions have consequences. How many fights have you been in? How times have you sent some prick to the hospital? And how many times has one them come back for revenge? It's only a matter of time before one of them tries to use _my_ sister just to try and hurt _you_." Yang felt her anger rise when she heard him chuckle.

"You think I don't know that?" Jaune turned around flashing her a soft smile. "Hell," he scoffed, "I could say same about you. I've seen your fights. I've seen the murderous glares you get after winning a match. Who's to say one of your opponents won't snap from losing try to use Ruby to get to you?"

"That doesn't matter because I'm her sister! I'd beat the shit out of any cunt who tried to mess with her!"

"And Ruby is my best friend!" he growled. "You don't think I'd try to protect her as well?!" Yang looked somewhat surprised by his sudden outburst but didn't seem to back down. Jaune let out a deep a breath before continuing. "Look I get it, you want to help your sister as all elder siblings should but that what you're doing isn't helping."

"Excuse me?" Yang said as she slowly stood up from her seat. "What the fuck did you just say?" She stepped towards him fury burning in her eyes. "What the fuck gives you the right to say I'm not helping?! Who the fuck do you think you are to say that _I'm_ not helping _my_ little sister?!"

"I have the right to say that because I've been where Ruby was. I know what it's like to be the shy little introvert who has trouble making friends, especially when they're outshined by their extroverted older sister." Jaune heard her whisper an "oh" under breath as she flicked her eyes away from him, but he continued on. "I also know what it's like when your extroverted sibling uses _their_ friends to try to become _your_ friends even though you just want to make friends of your own." Now Yang's head hung in shame as she remained silent. "I know what it's like to be forced into making friends simply because your sister believes that ripping a turtle's shell off it's back is the only way for it to be less afraid of the world." Yang winced. Was she really that bad? Had she been a detriment to Ruby instead of helping her like she initially thought?

No, that can't be true, Jaune had to be lying, right? What he said, and the way he said it made sound is he'd truly been in that situation before. "Am I," Yang spoke softly, "a bad sister?" she asked with her voice quivering at the end.

"No," he sighed. "Your heart's in the right place and I can see that you're genuinely trying to help." Yang sighed in relief hearing that she wasn't a failure of a sister was comforting, even if it came from the mouth of a boy she couldn't stand. "However," Jaune spoke when he heard her sigh, "the way you're going about helping Ruby is all wrong. You can't just force Ruby to be comfortable with meeting new people, you have to let her get used to it on her own and, she has. Now she can't just walk up to someone and start an engaging conversation but she has improved, and the way she's improved is by not being forced to talk to someone she doesn't know."

"So, what you're saying is that I'm not a bad sister but my efforts in trying to get come out of her shell are doing more harm than good," she stated earning a nod from Jaune. "Then is there a way I can actually help Ruby?"

"Well, the first thing you should do is talk to her and apologize, you can do that tomorrow. Another thing you can do is, to stop trying to push me away from her," he suggested causing Yang to narrow her eyes at him. "Hear me out first. As you already know Ruby doesn't like it when we argue, and those arguments cause her to cling to me more than usual. If you ease up on trying to push me away and instead carefully encourage her to make new friends, she might end up spending less and less time around me. Now that doesn't mean our friendship will automatically end or that she'll forget about me, but you'll no longer have to worry about Ruby spending all her time around someone as dangerous as me."

To say that Yang was surprised would be a little of an understatement. Hearing a seemingly well thought out plan on how she could not only pull Ruby out of her protective bubble but, also on how she could pull her away from Jaune was a little shocking. However, what really amazed her was the fact that it all came from _him_ , the person that she'd come to hate after four years of knowing him. Well maybe "hate" was a little strong but she'd definitely disliked him, although now he did seem to be a bit more tolerable. "Well," Yang sighed, "I guess I've got no other choice but to trust you and hope you know what you're doing." Yang stepped towards Jaune and extended her hand. "So, temporary uh, allies?" she suggested.

"Sure," he said with a soft smile. Yang smiled back as they shook hands.

"Jaune, what the hell are you doing?!" a voice called out. It was Cinder, she stood at the kitchen entryway hands on her hips and in nothing but a black hoodie with small white cartoonish bones sprinkled over the sleeves and chest. It was one of Jaune's hoodies. "What the hell is taking you so long? Ruby and I are _starving_ and unless you'd like to be my chair again for the next few hours, I'd suggest you get back to work." Jaune blushed heavily at her threat.

"Uh, sorry I was busy burying the hatchet with Yang," he explained while scratching the back of his head. Cinder sighed softly and relaxed slightly before folding her arms under her chest.

"Well, I guess that's all well and good but hurry up," she demanded. She sent a glare at Yang before turning around and leaving swaying her hips with every step. Yang starred at her and then looked back Jaune in disbelief.

"Don't mind her," he sighed, "she's just hungry."

"Okay~ but does she have to be so bitchy about it?" He shot her a glare momentarily silencing her before returning to his earlier task. A few moments later Yang spoke once more, "Wait what did she mean by being her 'chair' again?"

* * *

Yay food's here," Ruby cheered when Jaune and Yang entered the room both carrying plates filled with food. One filled with cookies and another filled with soft pretzels and mini pigs in a blanket.

"About fucking time," Cinder griped causing Yang to glare at her for swearing around her little sister.

"Sorry about that it took a little longer than expected," said Jaune as he placed the plate of cookies on his desk. As Ruby began scarfing them down Jaune couldn't help but notice her attire. She wore a black hoodie with an orange interior that looked to be a few sizes too big along with white and red pajama pants. However what caught his attention was the hoodie she was wearing. On the front of the hoodie was a small bunny head. "Is that, my Pumpkin Pete's hoodie?"

"Hmm?" Ruby hummed with a mouth full of cookies before looking down. She swallowed and answered and with a, "Yep," before grabbing a few more cookies and going over to his couch and sitting next to Cinder.

"Okay," he mouthed silently. "So," he said as he grabbed a cookie, "What are we doing first?"

"Video games," Ruby cheered before turning on the game console. Cinder and Yang shrugged their shoulders and picked up a controller. After a few hours of gaming, and humiliation of Jaune being Cinder's chair once more, the group was winding down for the night. Ruby had passed out on the couch with Yang right next her struggling to fight off sleep. Jaune laid on his bed staring up at the ceiling with Cinder cuddled up next to him holding on to his arm.

"Something wrong?" she asked, "You've been staring at the ceiling for a few minutes now. Is there something on your mind?"

"Uh, nothing too serious just thinking about how tomorrow might go," he explained while twisting his body towards her. "While I doubt it'll happen, Yang might try to convince Ruby that our friendship is nothing but trouble."

"I thought you two already got past your differences?"

"I hope we did." Jaune sighed as he looked away from her. There was a flash of worry and anger in his eyes before he turned away from her. Cinder scowled and climbed over him to the other side of the bed forcing him to look at her once more.

"What else?" she whispered angrily.

"There is nothing else," he replied as he tried turning away from her again. She climbed on top of him once again and straddled his waist while pinning down his arms.

"Do _not_ lie to me," she growled. "You're worried about something other than just Yang and Ruby."

Jaune sighed deeply as he realized that there was no escaping this. He could just try to push her off but that would only anger her even more. "It's my dad, he's coming home soon."

Cinder's scowl faded and was replaced with a blank look. "Oh. When does he get back?"

"In a few days I believe, and before you ask, no. I do not want you taking _care_ of him, it'll just lead to even more problems."

"Are you sure? I can be very persuasive."

"I don't doubt that but no, I don't want _them_ mixing together, who's know what might happen if they did."

"Who said anything about me using _that_? I was thinking about having a private one on one chat with daddy dearest."

"Cinder," Jaune warned.

"Don't 'Cinder' me," she growled. "Every time he comes here he drags you off to the base and you always come back in covered in blood and bruises, not to mention looking like you haven't slept in days and I'm sick of it."

"I am too," he replied glaring up at her, "but I need to be the one handle it." She looked deep into his eyes, trying hard not to get lost in them, she saw a strong resolve for him to be the one to take care of his problems all on his own, not wanting any help from others.

It was a bad habit of his. Cinder hung her head in disbelief and groaned in frustration, "You can be so unbearable irritating at times, you know that?"

A soft smile graced his features, "I know. Thanks, Cin."

"Don't thank me yet," she replied while climbing off him. She laid at his side once more, she was closer this time and wrapped both arms his torso and burying her face into his chest. "Because if something happens-"

"He won't go that far," he said trying to calm her down.

Cinder gently cupped his cheek, "If something happens," she repeated emphasizing every word. "He's gone. Understand?"

He took a hold of her hand causing her to blush slightly and looked deeply into her eyes. Neither one of them said a word and as the minutes past the blush on Cinder's face grew deeper and deeper as she found it hard to keep herself from simply admiring his ocean blue eyes instead of trying to read his emotions or thoughts. Slowly he let go of her hand and closed his eyes. " _Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Is this it?"_ she wondered excitedly. " _Has he finally gotten a clue? Has my patience finally paid off? Is he finally going to fucking kiss me?!"_

"Goodnight Cin," Jaune whispered as he turned now lying on his back and began to drift off into sleep.

" _What?"_ Cinder wondered as she cocked head to the right. " _What?!"_ her mind screeched. Her body shook with anger, " _Did he just cock block me?!"_ To say she was angry was an understatement, she was absolutely furious. " _How dare he seduce me by complete fucking accident! How dare he get my hopes up for the kiss I've longed for, for who knows how fucking long! How dare you throw it all away like a wet paper towel."_ Cinder breathed deeply as she continued to glare orbs of hellfire at him after a few more breaths her anger subsided and was replaced with a lust for vengeance. " _It seems punishment is in order. Tomorrow I'm going to make sure your eyes **never** leave me. If you thought that today's teasing torture just wait until the morning."_

* * *

 **Hey, guys, I hope you all enjoyed the new chapter and will leave a review. It doesn't have to be nice or super positive I'm just looking for reviews that critique my writing and can help make it better. Also before anyone says anything, yes I know that the ending to this chapter is similar to the ending of one of the chapters in Coeur Al'Aran's Stress Relief. The memory of that chapter came to me as I was writing this but I decided to still go with this ending just to start the next chapter with a few laughs. Trust me it's gonna be a bit different than what Coeur wrote for Stress Relief.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, quick heads up I've got another story I'm working on so don't expect another any new chapters in the coming months. With that out of the way let's get into the new chapter.**

* * *

" _Yeah, no."_ Cinder groaned mentally. She'd been the first one to wake up which allowed her to reflect on last night's events in peace. She remembered that she'd sworn vengeance on Jaune for accidentally seducing her, however, " _I don't feel like it. Dressing myself up just to get him all flustered sounds like work and I don't feel like getting out of bed. Pretty sure I don't have any skirts here either which means I'd have to wear pants. I don't wanna wear pants today. Not to mention I'd have to do my hair and makeup and forcing Jaune to do it for me to do it sounds like even more work."_ She sighed contently as she basked in Jaune's warmth and tightened her hold on him as if she could somehow pull him any closer to her. " _Looks like you were saved by my laziness I hope you're grateful."_ As she closed her eyes to go back to sleep there was a sudden noise. She thought nothing of it at first until she heard it again. And again. And again. " _Okay, what the hell is that?"_ She heard sound once more followed by giggling and hushed voices trying to shush each other. Cinder's eyes shot open. The first thing she saw was a harsh flash of light. When her vision cleared she saw Jaune's chest, a head of black hair with red highlights, and Jaune's door halfway opened with several blond heads and scrolls poking through. " _Oh great, the peanut gallery is here,"_ she mentally groaned. " _Wait a sec, black hair with red highlights?"_

"Oh, shit," Cinder outwardly cursed after realizing who the hair color belonged to. She threw a pillow a Jaune's sisters, causing them to laugh harder as they scattered away. Cinder then tried shaking Ruby hoping to wake her up before Rayna saw them. She'd already banned Cinder from sleeping in the same bed as Jaune, if she saw that Cinder _and_ Ruby had slept in the same bed as him their punishment was sure to be a harsh one. "Ruby wake up," she whispered.

"Huh, wha?" Ruby groaned. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes she glared softly at the one who pulled her from her comforting dreams. "What do you want?"

"Ruby get up we can't be seen in Jaune's bed," Cinder warned as she'd already made her way over to Jaune's dresser.

"Huh?" Ruby cocked her head as she wondered what Cinder meant until it dawned on her. "Oh shit, his sisters."

"Too late for that," Cinder said to no one in particular.

Ruby then scrambled to get out of the bed only to fall to the floor. "Ow."

"You okay?"

"Yeah," Ruby replied as she pulled herself off the floor.

"Wait, Jaune?" Cinder questioned turning to look at the blond haired boy. "How long have you been up?"

"About a minute or two," he answered.

"Why didn't you do anything when your sisters showed up?" Jaune raised an eyebrow and gestured at Cinder before gesturing towards Ruby. "Oh," she said before searching through Jaune's dresser once more.

"By the way, Ruby what were you doing in my bed?"

"Escaping Yang," Ruby replied as she looked through her backpack. "That girl's heavy, she nearly crushed me last night. I almost suffocated in her boobs too."

"Ah, the annoyances of a having an older sister," Jaune commented.

"Oh, goddammit," Cinder cursed as she continued to root around in Jaune's dresser. "Jaune where are my clothes, I thought they were supposed to be in here?"

"Check the two bottom drawers," he answered as he pulled out his own set of clothes from the dresser, "I'm gonna go take a shower. Ruby, try to keep Yang away from my sisters okay?"

"Got it," the young girl replied.

"Oh, and Cin let me know when you're done with your shower so that I can do your hair and makeup, okay?"

Cinder paused her search and turned to look at him. "What?" she asked slowly having zero clues why Jaune would offer to do her hair and makeup.

"I'm your personal cosmetologist remember? After forcing me to learn to cosmetology you made me y-, ehh, you know what, nevermind forget I said anything," Jaune said suddenly. He'd realized that Cinder had actually forgotten she'd made him her personal hair and makeup artist and decided that it would best _not_ to remind her.

Cinder raised an eyebrow, "I did?" she wondered searching her brain for such a memory.

"D-don't worry about it really, it, it was just a joke," Jaune panicked.

"Did I make you do that?" Cinder questioned as she ignored Jaune. "Did I? I did. I did make you do that!" Cinder yelled excitedly as the memories came back to her. "Thanks for reminding me."

Jaune shoulders sagged with a frown appearing on his face, " _Goddammit, why the hell can't I keep my mouth shut?"_ he wondered. Jaune's head hung in frustration as he released a sigh, "Yeah no problem Cin," he said dejectedly before walking out of the room.

With the realization that she wouldn't have to force Jaune to do her bidding Cinder decided to put her plan back in motion. As she looked through Jaune's dresser her earlier suspicions were confirmed she did not have any skirts at Jaune's house. She did, however, find the next best thing, shorts, alongside a purple see-through bra and matching thong that most certainly did _not_ belong to her. " _Dammit, Charlotte I keep telling you I don't need help, and really a thong?"_ she scoffed mentally. " _As if I'd ever wear something that trashy."_ Shoving the skimpy underwear back inside, she then pulled out a black lacey bra and panties and set them alongside the outfit she planned to wear today. Gathering her things and Cinder headed off to take her shower.

* * *

Jaune sighed as he reluctantly combed Cinder's hair. Said girl was sitting in Jaune's desk chair humming softly while her best friend resisted the urge to beat her with said comb. He'd already washed and conditioned it for her and applied the necessary oils to her hair now all he had to do was comb it gently for a little while. Then he'd have to apply her makeup. Jaune sighed once more. "It's your fault you know," Cinder chimed. "If you'd never reminded me that you were already my personal cosmetologist, you wouldn't be doing this."

"Don't remind me," he grunted. He combed her hair for a little while longer before setting it down.

"Oh, finally done," she wondered.

"You tell me," he replied as he handed her hand mirror. She turned her head left and right inspecting her current hairstyle. It was the same one she usually sported, as she wouldn't let him do anything else, although it seemed to be a tad curlier than normal.

"I like it," she said placing the mirror back on Jaune's desk. Just then the door opened and Yang walked in.

Her attire consisted of a form-fitting grey v neck sweater and light blue skinny jeans. "What's going on here?" she asked.

"Cin's holding me hostage," Jaune answered. "She's trying to get a ransom from Ruby."

"Jaune, don't say that, or else I'd have to take Yang hostage as well." The two giggled at their little joke while Yang wondered whether or not she should run from these two weirdos.

"Um speaking of which where is Ruby?" Yang asked cautiously.

"She's playing with my younger sisters," Jaune answered.

"Thanks," Yang said as she turned around.

"Yang, wait," Jaune called out as he rushed towards her. He caught by her by the wrist and gently pulled back her into the room.

Yang glared fiercely at him. "What? What do you want?" she questioned as she tore her wrist from his grasp.

"Yang, I know you want to have your talk with Ruby, but right now is neither the time nor place. Just wait a few hours, okay?"

"Hey," Cinder called out. "Hurry up and close the door before one of your sister's see Yang."

"Too late," a voice called out from behind Yang causing the poor girl to nearly jump out of her skin. She spun around to see a blond haired girl around Cinder's height bearing a small resemblance to Jaune. "We already saw her when we were taking pictures." She wore a black and purple sports bra with black yoga pants.

"What do you want Em?" Jaune questioned seemingly not in the mood for his sister's shenanigans.

"Well, originally I came to see if my song was ready but since the new girl is up I might as well get some answers," she explained while trotting over to Jaune's bed.

"And your questions are?" Yang chimed.

"Well, for starters I'd like to know what has you interested in Jaune?" Yang cast a strange look at Jaune before looking back at Emily.

"Excuse me?"

"What's got you hangin' around Jaune? Is it the kinky little harem he has going? Are you wondering how my little brother managed to two girls wrapped around him, or are you more interested in the girls and view Jaune as a bonus? I'm curious."

Jaune sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Yang don't listen to her nonsense. There isn't a harem, it's just a dumb joke my sisters like to make since I don't have any male friends. It's why we didn't want you being seen by one of my sisters."

"Come on Jaune no need to hide it, we all except you and your decision to date multiple girls, we just hope that you remember to use condoms."

"Gross," Yang gagged.

"I agree," said Jaune. "Setting your delusions aside Yang's here because Ruby asked to her be. Yang is Ruby's older sister and despite our mutual connections she and I aren't friends. So Ruby decided to fix that and thought that spending the weekend here would be a good way to help speed things along," Jaune lied not wanting to tell her the true reason why Yang was there. If he did all of hell would break loose.

"I see," Emily replied. "But just so we're clear."

"No, I have no interest in dating your brother or joining his so-called 'harem'," said Yang.

Emily simply shrugged her shoulders and smiled, "Well back to the matter at hand I guess. Jaune, is it ready?"

"Not yet. Songs take time to write. Just wait a few more days," Jaune told her.

"Ugh, fine~," she groaned. Emily then moved from Jaune's bed and walked out of the room, "I'll be back later."

"Wait, you're writing a song for Emily?" Cinder question. "The hell? How come you've never written one for me?"

"Because," Jaune said slowly, "you never asked." That earned him a kick to the shins. "Ow!"

"I shouldn't have too," she said kicking him again.

"Ow! Look, I'm sorry okay? I'll write you one if you stop kicking me." Cinder relaxed and smiled a smug but sweet smile at him. Jaune sighed before pulling out a makeup bag from his desk.

"So did why Emily want a song from you?" Cinder wondered.

"Well as you know Em is trying to become a pro-MMA fighter, so about a week ago she asked me to write her a theme for whenever she enters the ring."

"But why ask you instead of getting the rights to some random song?" Yang interjected as she looked around Jaune's room.

"Well I'm trying to become a musician and since I've written a few songs before she asked me to write one for her."

"What's the genre," Cinder asked while Jaune applied a layer of eyeshadow on her left eyelid.

"Alternative metal," he answered. "Said she wanted something that sounded like Janus, or 10 Years, or a mix between the two."

"Well, that sounds, _easy_ ," Cinder grimaced.

"Yeah I know," Jaune sighed.

"Lyrics too?" she wondered.

"No, just instrumental."

Just then Cinder's scroll vibrated, retrieving from the desk she opened it up and scowled immediately. "Well, I guess that makes things easier." Jaune hummed in agreement as the teens slipped back into silence. A few minutes had gone by and Jaune was now putting the finishing touches on Cinder's makeup. Gently he applied a coat of lipstick on her lips before stepping away from and grabbed the hand mirror. Once again Cinder inspected her appearance and was almost surprised that Jaune didn't make her look like a clown as an act of revenge.

"Well done Jaune," Cinder praised with a bright smile. She was quite pleased with the colors he chose and how he used them. Around her eyes was a light layer of violet eyeshadow that was trimmed by a thin line of black eyeliner both paired nicely with her mascara while her lips wore a coat of black lipstick. Her skin was quite pale so the dark colors of her makeup were a nice contrast. It also seemed to go well with her outfit which was a tight black shirt with sleeves that went down to her knuckles. The sleeves had a black ribbon woven into them in the design of a corset with the ends tied in a bow on the shoulders. The shirt was paired with her slightly torn black jean short shorts. On her legs were black lace stockings that came up to her mid-thigh and a pair of high heeled black leather boots. The boots were quite baggy and decorated in a few silver studs.

"Thanks," he replied. "Now is that all, your highness?" he asked with a bit of irritation in his voice and a mock bow.

"For now," she answered. "Though I do expect you to answer the next time I call."

"As if I have a choice."

"Hey, are you two finally done?" Yang asked looking up from one of Jaune's comic books.

"Yeah we're done, let's grab Ruby and then we can leave," Jaune answered.

"Where are we going by the way?" Yang wondered.

"It's a surprise, but don't worry it's a place that's sure to bring you and Ruby closer," Jaune answered once before leaving to retrieve Ruby. Opening the door to Julie and Allyson's room revealed the three running around the room playing with dolls, stuffed animals and one of Jaune's old action figures. "Hey, Ruby we're about to-. Is that my Death Knight action figure?!" The girls paused and looked at Jaune before looking at said toy which happened to be Julie's hand. "Julie! I told you about taking my things."

Julie put the toy behind her back and looked away, "But, you don't play with it anymore," she argued.

"It doesn't matter you shouldn't take things with other's permission. That goes for you as well Allyson."

"Aw," the other twin moaned. Jaune held out his hand and motioned for her to hand over the toy. Julie hesitated for a moment before placing the toy in Jaune's hand.

"Sorry," she whispered.

"I forgive you," Jaune sighed. He then inspected the damage done to the poor plastic knight. "Aw man, he's covered in glitter and his skulls are missing too. Why's the hellfire painted pink?"

"It was to make him look pretty," Allyson answered with a sheepish smile.

Jaune pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed once more, "Come on Ruby, we're leaving."

"R-right," Ruby replied as she put down the doll she was holding. "See you guys later," she said before chasing after Jaune.

After arriving back in Jaune's room Jaune placed the beatified Death Knight onto his desk. Cinder inspected the toy before looking at Jaune with a raised eyebrow. "Yes that's him and don't ask," he said answering her unspoken question. "Okay now that everyone is here we can finally leave," he told them as he grabbed his jacket. Once everyone was ready the group bid farewell to Mrs. Arc and along with the aggravating Arc sisters and gathered inside Cinder's car.

"So where are we going?" Yang asked.

"First we're heading to a flower shop," Cinder answered as she pulled out of the driveway.

"What? W-why?" Yang questioned.

"Because we're-"

"Ruby," Jaune warned before Ruby could say any more. "Not yet it's still a surprise."

"Oh," Ruby mouthed silently before leaning back in her seat. Yang looked back and forth between Ruby and Jaune before scoffing and leaning her head against the window.

* * *

A bell rung as the door to the flower shop opened. "Still don't get why we're." Yang griped as she stepped inside.

"Just be patient," Cinder argued following the blond female.

"Don't worry after this, you'll get to have your talk," Jaune reassured. "In the meantime why don't you pick out some flowers." Yang rolled her eyes and sighed before looking around the store. A few minutes had gone by and Yang still hadn't picked out any flowers.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked suddenly, surprising her sister. "How come you haven't grabbed any flowers yet?"

"Uh, nothing it's just I don't know what to pick," Yang responded. "Besides does it really matter what I pick?"

"Of course it does!" Ruby exclaimed while stopping her foot.

Yang took a step back and put her hands on Ruby's shoulders. "Whoa, Ruby keep your voice down okay?" Yang said calmly. "Now tell me what's wrong? Why are you so upset about the flowers?" Ruby's face began to shift from an angry glare to a look of disappointment. She didn't say anything. Instead, Ruby turned to her right and picked up a few tulips and added them to the small bouquet of white lilies in her hand. She turned around and walked away. Leaving Yang to wonder what the fuck just happened.

After paying for everyone's flowers the group had already gathered back into Cinder's car and were now on their way to a new location, however, Ruby hadn't spoken to Yang their incident in the store. She wondered if this might leave a negative impact on their relationship. " _No, we're sisters we'll get through this, eventually, and things will go back to normal. I'm sure it will. But, she looked so disappointed and upset."_

Suddenly the car pulled to a stop. "We're here," Cinder called out. Grabbing the bouquet Ruby rushed out the car. Yang was close to running after her until she saw something in her peripherals. A tall wrought iron fence and behind that fence were dozens upon dozens of tombstones.

" _Why are we?"_ Yang wondered as her eyes went wide with realization. " _Oh. Oh, shit. Jaune must've known that I haven't been here in a while and decided that this would be best for Ruby and me to make up and she knew we were coming here. No wonder Ruby was so upset, I should've figured it out sooner."_

"Looks like you figured why we're here," said Jaune pulling Yang out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, yeah I did," Yang sighed. "And I feel like an ass for not realizing sooner."

"Don't worry I'm sure you can make it up to Ruby somehow."

* * *

"Hi, Mr. Stone!" Ruby yelled as she jogged past the elderly groundskeeper.

"Hello, Ruby," Mr. Stone greeted while waving at the young girl. As she grew closer to her mother's grave she saw a woman with long black hair in a long black and red coat standing over it. When she the reached the grave Ruby doubled over and gasped for breath. The woman turned to her and raised an eyebrow.

Ruby then opened her mouth but was rendered speechless when she noticed the woman's appearance. However Ruby wasn't the only one in a state of amazement, the woman in front wore a look of surprise as well as she looked back and forth between the picture on the tombstone and Ruby. "Y-yang?" Ruby asked after a few moments of silence. The woman seemed to relax a little at the sound of her voice, she looked at the grave once more before speaking.

"N-no. I believe you have me confused with someone else," the woman responded.

"Oh, right sorry," Ruby said with a sheepish smile, "I figured as much it's just, you look so much like my sister." It surprised Ruby just exactly how much the woman looked like Yang except with longer hair that was black, red eyes instead of lilac and a gothic sense of fashion. "Except you also don't look like her, it's weird. It feels like I'm looking at her evil twin."

"How do you know she's not the evil one?"

Ruby opened her to mouth to retort but closed it after realizing that looking like the cliche popular high school girl was a sure fire way to make others that you weren't evil. "I guess your right," Ruby announced with a light blush. Her eyes soon caught sight of a bouquet of white lilies on her mother's grave. "Are those your's?" The woman nodded. Ruby cocked her head, "Oh, you knew my mom?"

"Yes," the woman answered before drawing a slow breath. "Summer and I go quite a ways back. We were quite close."

"I see." Ruby wasn't sure what to say. Normally you'd just say 'I'm sorry for your loss' and move on but something told her that wasn't going to cut it.

"I'm sorry," the woman suddenly chimed surprising Ruby. "I'm sorry Summer, I haven't been a very good friend recently. I was out of the country at the time of her death and couldn't make it to her funeral, but not once did I try to come to visit afterward. There's no excuse. I'm sorry Summer." The woman then turned to Ruby, "And I'm sorry to you as well Ruby." Ruby took a few steps back and stammered.

"H-h-how d-. How do you know my name?"

"Summer once told me that if she ever had a daughter she'd name her Ruby. Said that she'd be her 'precious little gemstone'. I guess she followed through on that. Goodbye, for now, Ruby," the woman then turned away began to leave but paused after a few steps. "Raven," she called out. "My name is Raven. I'll be seeing you soon." With that, the woman continued to walk away.

" _What a strange woman,"_ Ruby thought, " _I should ask dad or Uncle Qrow if they know her."_

"Boo," a voice whispered in her ear.

"Gah!" Ruby screamed as she jumped out of her skin. She then heard the soft laughter of her two best friends and sister. "Holy shit, don't scare me like that! Oh, sorry, mom."

"Sorry I couldn't resist," said Cinder. "Ready?"

"Y-yeah," Ruby replied casting a glance at where Raven once was before returning her attention to the tombstone. "Hi, mom. It's that time again, and I brought Jaune and Cinder with me again, I even managed to drag Yang here. These are the flowers that Yang," Ruby said dryly making her sister wince, "and I picked out for you."

After Ruby put her flowers down Cinder spoke next. "Hello, Mrs. Rose I'd like you to know that Jaune and I are making good on our promise to look after Ruby."

"That's right," Jaune chimed as he knelt down next to Ruby, wrapping an arm around her shoulder while he placed his own bouquet of bright red azalea flowers. "And we'll continue to keep that promise. Cin and I will always be there for her."

"Whether she wants us to or not," Cinder added as she too knelt down and placed her own bouquet azalea flowers before draping her arm across Ruby's other shoulder.

"Guys," Ruby sniffed, before pulling her friends into a tight hug. The trio stayed that like for few moments before letting go. Ruby wiped her eyes and sighed. "Yang? Anything to say?"

Yang fidgeted with her hands as she stepped closer. Her eyes looked everywhere but her mother's grave, "Um, Hey mom. Uh, I, I know I haven't been here in a while and I'm sorry. I hope you're not offended and thinking that one daughter loves you more than the other because that's not the case. I just had other things, I just," Yang sighed and hung her head in shame. "No, there's no excuse, I should've come here more but I wasn't thinking about you, I'm sorry." Something then brushed against her hand. Looking down she saw Ruby massaging her hand with her thumb. "But just because I don't come here often doesn't mean that I don't miss you. Oh, and don't worry about us. Dad and Uncle Qrow have been taking really good care of us, and I been looking after Ruby like any big sister should even if I happen to get in her way from time to time and make her really angry at me, but I'll continue to do so even when she gives me the silent treatment because I love her."

"Yang," Ruby said softly as she pulled her into a loving hug. "I love you too," she whispered. The sisters embraced each other for some time sniffling into each other shoulder every now and then. As they hugged Cinder tapped Jaune's arm gaining his attention. She then pointed at the second bouquet of flowers in her hand before pointing off in the distance. He nodded and continued to watch Ruby and Yang while Cinder quietly walked away.

Eventually, the two separated but still clung to each other's arms. Yang spoke first, "Ruby, I'm sorry. All this time I thought that I was helping by forcing you out of your shell trying to get you to make new friends but all I was doing was pulling you away from the friends you already have all because I misjudged Jaune. He's actually kind of a _decent_ guy." Jaune snorted at just how much she stressed the word decent. "I just wanted what I thought was best for you."

"I know, and I'm sorry I got upset in the flower shop. I know that you didn't exactly know why we were there and where we were actually going, it was just frustrating that you didn't figure it out. It almost felt like you didn't even care."

"Yeah looking back at everything I'm surprised I didn't figure it out sooner. Look I promise I won't try to sabotage your friendship with Jaune anymore and I promise that I won't try and force you out of your comfort zone, but I'll be there to support you whenever you feel like leaving it."

"Thanks, Yang and I promise I'll try to make some friends that aren't violent goths." The two smiled at each other once more and embraced again.

* * *

A somber smile spread across Cinder's face as she stared at the small yet ornate gravestone, engraved into the stone was the name, David R. Fall. She knelt down to place the flowers on the grave. She stayed silent for a few moments recalling fond memories of her father before standing back. While doing so her hand brushed against her boot. Letting out a sigh Cinder's eyes narrowed, "Get out here. Now." There was silence for a second before the sound of heavy boots hitting the ground filled the air. Looking over at a nearby oak tree, Cinder saw a boy with silver hair dressed in a black suit step out from behind the tree.

"Ms. Fall," the boy greeted.

"Mercury," Cinder greeted saying the boys name slowly. "Why have you been following me?"

"The mistress has requested that you come home at once. She says that she has messaged you multiple times now and that you've yet to respond. She also said that you missed your date with that Toro boy. So she sent me to retrieve you."

"To retrieve me?" she echoed.

"Yes, she wished to know that you were safe. You are her daughter and it's only natural that she'd care about you." Cinder covered her mouth as she burst into a fit of laughter. Mercury grimaced as he ran a hand through his hair. " _Great choice of words there Mercury,"_ he stated scolding himself mentally.

"Oh, Mercury," Cinder sighed as she regained her composure. "I would've thought that after all this time you'd have learned that woman doesn't care about her daughter, she only cares about her heir. When you get back home remember to tell her to shove it will you?" With that said Cinder then turned around and began to walk away.

"Ms. Fall wait!" Mercury called out. "I can't let you leave, I'm supposed to bring you home," he stated just before grabbing her wrist. A very big mistake. Cinder spun around and grabbed his wrist and pulled him forward. He then heard a familiar 'flick' sound before feeling something sharp press up against a very intimate area.

Cinder leaned into Mercury's ear and whispered, "Let me make this very clear. You serve _me_ and only me. Whatever orders she gives you are to be written off am I understand?"

Mercury nodded with sweat dripping down his forehead, "Yes ma'am."

"Good boy. Now disobey me again and you'll receive more than free sex change. Is that clear?"

"Crystal," he stated nervously.

"Good," Cinder smiled as she let go and moved her knife away from his manhood. "Now I want you to go back the manor and tell mother that I shall see her Monday evening and not a moment sooner."

"Yes, ma'am."

Closing her switchblade Cinder slipped the knife back into her boot, "Oh, one more thing. Have Emerald acquire some blessed arrows." With that Cinder turned around once more and began her trek back to the others. During her walk, she couldn't help but smile. Telling her mother off, be it indirect or not, was always fun. Although this time she was sure there'd be hell to pay. " _Oh well,"_ she shrugged. " _A few days away from her is more than worth my future punishment. Now, where is my future sweetheart? I think it's time for_ _ **his**_ _punishment."_

* * *

 **Well, that concludes this chapter. It took a little longer than I would've liked but I think got it in enough time. Just a reminder there won't be any more update for a while as I'm working on another and if I put almost any time into a new chapter for Three Goth Dorks it'll take over most of my focus. For anyone interested in the new story just know that it's a RWBY story staring Jaune and Blake.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello everyone a quick note here the Jaune and Blake story I mentioned in the last chapter, which is now known as Black Hands, is currently on hold. Partly because I wrote this chapter as I was writing that story, but mainly because of my lack of inspiration. So sorry to anyone who was looking forward to that. Originally I was going to post this chapter after the first chapter of Black Hands but since that was taking too long I decided to just upload this instead of letting it gather dust in my doc manager. Anyway enough talk onto the story.**

* * *

"I hate you," Jaune groaned in a low voice. Cinder replied by sticking her tongue out at him before turning her attention to a clothing rack. They were currently in a mall, and it was all Cinder's fault. After meeting back up with the others Cinder had suggested that instead of heading back to Jaune's they should go to the mall. Immediately Jaune said "no" refusing to anywhere near a clothing store with Cinder. Unfortunately, he was outvoted, as Yang and Ruby had agreed without a second thought.

"Oh, this looks nice," Cinder commented pulling a top off the rack. "What do you think?" she wondered.

Jaune eyes narrowed at the shirt before looking at Cinder, "I'm going to kill you," he said a flat voice.

"You don't like it?" she frowned before inspecting the shirt. "Let's look for something else," she said before turning away. Jaune tried to use this as an opportunity to leave but was grabbed by Cinder before he could even take three steps. Wordlessly she dragged him over to a new display of clothes. "Stay," she warned. Jaune let out another groan before looking over to Ruby. Apparently, she was just as miserable as he was. It seemed that every time Ruby picked something Yang would veto it and suggest something that Ruby would describe as being too "kiddy" which would lead to a small argument between the two. "Ruby can pick out whatever she wants," Cinder voiced, apparently she too had noticed the sisters clashing.

"And why do you get to decide?" Yang questioned with her hands on her hips.

"Because _I'm_ the one paying," Cinder countered. Ruby rose her arms in victory and stuck her tongue out at Yang, who didn't look too happy. "Let's go," she said suddenly. She then grabbed Jaune again and dragged him over to the dressing rooms before pushing him down onto a bench. "I'm gonna try these on," she explained gesturing at the clothes on her arm. "Stay," she warned once more before walking towards the rooms. Once the door was closed Jaune looked over at the exit, wondering how quickly, and quietly, could he leave before Cinder came out.

"Ow," he groaned, as he felt something bounce off his head. Looking around he saw a small blue ball near his feet.

"Stay!" he heard Cinder say again before hearing the door to her dressing room slam close. Jaune sat back in the bench and crossed his arms as he let out a sigh of irritation. " _Okay, how am I doing this?"_ Cinder asked herself, wondering how she was going to both tease and seduce Jaune. " _Maybe I should start slow, wear something subtle, eye-catching but subtle."_ A few minutes later Cinder came out wearing a short black dress that hugged her body highlighting her figure and showed a small amount of cleavage. The dress had small openings around the waist and hips displaying the waistband of her panties. " _Jaune~_ ," she called sensually. "What do you think?" Cinder turned giving him a view of the back before turning back around and leaned against the door frame sticking out her chest.

"It looks nice," he said flatly clearly uninterested. Cinder glared daggers at him before letting a smug grin spread across her face. She went back into the room and soon came out dressed in a sheer black see-through shirt and a black mini skirt.

"How about this one?" she wondered showing the outfit to Jaune, hoping he'd pay attention to her displayed bra. She then turned around and cocked her hips and stuck out her rear. "Think I should buy it?"

"U-uh," he stuttered. Looking over her shoulder caused her smug grin to return, as she saw him looking away from her while blushing furiously. "You look nice but uh, d-don't you think it's a little, too revealing," the boy stuttered, he was more than a little unsure of what to do here. This wasn't the first time he'd seen Cinder in a bra, however, this was the first time he'd seen her, snowy mountain tops. Her milk geysers. Her nipples. Jaune could see her nipples due to the semi see-through bra she wore beneath the fully see-through shirt.

"But you like it right?"

"W-well," he stammered.

"Jaune," she cooed.

"Cin I think you sho-"

"Jaune," she called once more. Gently she cupped his cheek and forced him to look up at her. "You like it right?" she asked again, bending over to give him a different viewpoint of her chest.

Jaune gulped loudly before answering, "Yes."

"Thank you," she whispered before placing a kiss atop his head. Cinder felt Jaune's eyes on her as she walked back to the dressing room, so she put a little sway in her hips, hoping to keep his attention. When the door to her room closed it took everything out of her not to squeal and jump for joy. " _Wait, calm down Cinder. It's not over yet, there are more outfits to try on and I still need to come up with today's coup de grâce."_ After composing herself she began to undress.

After a few more minutes of giving Jaune his own personal fashion show, Ruby finally caught wind of what Cinder was doing and scolded the older girl, who at the time was in a black and white bikini. "And oh my god, why is a goth clothing store selling bikinis in October?!" Ruby yelled.

"Vale has multiple indoor pools and waterparks, so most stores sell swimwear year-round," answered one of the workers.

"Thank you," Ruby replied happily before returning her attention back to Cinder. "Ugh go change," she ordered, "we're leaving when you get out." Cinder shoulders slumped forward as she let out a groan before turning around and walking back into the changing booth. "Don't think I've forgotten about you mister," she declared pointing an accusing finger at Jaune.

"Huh?"

"Don't 'huh' me! You are just as bad as her. Just because she wants attention doesn't mean that you have to give it to her. Every time you do it just gives her even more reason keep doing these seduction tirades, and then eventually everyone's gonna get the wrong idea about you two, or worse they'll see Cinder as some easy little tramp and then we'll _all_ get arrested for manslaughter. Is that what you want?!"

"Uh, no," Jaune answered.

"Then stop going along with her," Ruby growled.

"Okay I'm done," Cinder called out. "Let's go."

"Good now put everything back," Ruby ordered.

"Wha- why?!"

"Because you'll just use them on Jaune when I'm not around."

Cinder glared at the small girl before responding, "Fine but if I don't get buy my clothes then I won't be buying yours."

Ruby deflated immediately, "Shit. I needed those. Okay, you can keep the clothes but keep the seduction and teasing to a minimum."

"Deal," and just like that the two girls shook hands and made their way to the register. Cinder of course paid for everything and made Jaune carry all of it save for two items, a steel knuckle duster, and a black leather hip pouch. Both of which Cinder had on her person.

"Okay, where to next and please let it be home," Jaune begged.

"Oh look that store is having a sale," Cinder pointed out.

"Cin, that's a lingerie store," Jaune replied.

"Your point?" she asked.

"Do you even listen to me?!" Ruby screamed.

"Did you say something Ruby?" Cinder jokingly replied.

"Uuugghh," Ruby groaned. She then grabbed Cinder by the wrist and dragged the older girl off to a new store while Cinder had burst into a fit of giggles.

"You know I suspected this last night but I gotta ask, are things always like this?" Yang asked as she walked alongside Jaune.

"More or less," he answered. "And as annoying as _this_ can be I don't mind because I know it's just Cinder being Cinder."

"I'm sure you don't mind looking at her boobs either," Yang replied with a smug grin.

"This conversation's over," Jaune said as he followed in Ruby and Cinder into a cosmetic store.

"Oh sweet, I was running low on lip gloss."

"That's all you're getting from here?"

"Probably, why?"

"It's just that normally whenever I come here with someone we end up buying a load of stuff. Like now for instance," Jaune then pointed at Cinder who was using Ruby's hood as a makeshift bag for all the makeup Ruby pointed at.

"I see your point but no, I'm not like that. I like to shop but not really for makeup since I don't wear it much. However, I do wanna try out your mascara."

"Well, Cin likes Adele Aesthetics so that's what I normally get for her, although she and some of my sisters also like Regina Nocte. Why don't you ask Cin to grab you a few so you can experiment and see what you like best?"

"I'll do that but you still haven't answered my question."

"I'm not following?"

"What mascara do you use?"

"I-I just told you."

"Yeah, but I'm not talking about Cinder or your sisters, I'm talking about you," she emphasized by poking a finger at his chest.

Jaune's face scrunched up, "...What?"

Yang rolled her eyes, "I'm asking what type of mascara do _you_ , Jaune Arc use because every time I see you, your eyelashes are always long and thick. They're defined and," she paused and looked away, "kinda sexy. Only 'kind of' though."

"Y-, I-. Yang, I don't, I don't wear mascara."

"Hey come on there's no need to be embarrassed, there're plenty of guys that wear of makeup at school and some of them are actually pretty tough."

"I'm not embarrassed to wear makeup," Jaune argued while looking at the black nail paint on his fingernails, "it's just that I don't wear mascara, my eyelashes are just naturally like this."

Yang rolled her eyes, "Fine keep your secrets, I'll ask Cinder if she knows anything." Jaune stayed still, watching Yang as walked off to go speak with Cinder. He couldn't hear them but he had a pretty good idea on what was being said judging by the shared glance from Ruby and Cinder before they burst into a fit of giggles. Whether they laughing at him for having feminine eyelashes or at Yang for believing he wore mascara Jaune wasn't sure. It was probably both. The three then walked back over to him.

"Yeah I see it now, your eyelashes are pretty," Cinder stated with a grin glued to her face.

"Yeah, they really make your eyes pop," Ruby added.

"Thanks, I guess? Are we done now?"

"Yeah, we can go," Jaune visibly perked up at the sound of this, "there are other stores I wanna go to," and his shoulders dropped once more. "Oh relax it'll be fun."

"For who?" he retorted.

"For me," Cinder said with a bright smile.

After continuing their shopping spree for _three and a half hours_ the group was starting to wind down. "I'm tired," said Cinder as she rested on a bench with a drink in hand. Jaune shot her an irritated glare. "What? I carried bags around too, see?" she said while gesturing at the three shopping bags near her feet. Jaune however, had been carrying sixteen.

"I hate you."

"Then why stick around hmm?" she questioned while sliding closer to him.

"Because I love you too much." A sudden sound rang through the air, that sound was Cinder's mind coming to a screeching halt.

"Wh-wha. W-what did you say?"

"I said I love you too much."

"Y-you love, me?" Cinder questioned as an incredibly red blush crept up her cheeks. " _Ohmygod! Ohmygod! Ohmygod! He said it! He finally said it! I can't believe he said it, and so casually as well. Should I kiss him? I should right? We both like each other so it shouldn't weird right? Maybe? Oh shit, I don't know what to do. I hadn't planned out this far, I didn't expect him to confess to me so suddenly either. Dammit, Jaune you're ruining my plans!"_ "U-um y-you, love me?" " _Say something else stupid!"_

"Yeah, of course I do, you're my best friend." Cinder's heart fluttered at the sound his words. She smiled a bright and sweet smile at him before wrapping her arms around him and pressing her face into his chest. Jaune raised an eyebrow but said nothing. "I mean I thought it was pretty obvious that I'd love you, along with my sisters, Ruby," and~ it happened again. Pain coursed through her abdomen as if she'd been run through with a sword or spear.

"Bitch," she whispered.

"You say something?" Jaune asked.

Cinder didn't reply instead she tightened her hold on him before pulling back her hand and punching him in the thigh. "Nope," she responded letting go him before turning away from Jaune and folding her arms.

"Ow! The fuck was that for?" Jaune groaned as he massaged his thigh.

"No reason."

"It sure felt like there was one."

"Nope."

"Whatever," Jaune whispered as he turned away from her. Allowing him to see something that made him forget all about his pain. "No way," he said excitedly. "Notes Aplenty is having a sale on equipment."

"Don't you have enough music stuff?"

"Don't you have enough clothes?"

"Touché."

"And no, I don't have enough 'music stuff' because _someone_ broke my amp."

"That wasn't me it was the munchkins."

"Sure~ it was Cin. Anyway, I'll be right back," he said just before running into the store. Cinder sighed heavily. She was still reeling from her last attack from the friend zone. In hindsight, she shouldn't have gotten her hopes up so high. She should've known that Jaune would never confess so casually. " _Oh well, there's always tomorrow I guess."_ Was there? She'd be turning eighteen in a few months and would be seen as a legal adult making it awkward for her and Jaune if they were to start dating around that time. Plus who knew how long it'd be until he finally realized her feelings. " _Ugh, I don't wanna think about this anymore it's just making me depressed."_ Looking around for something to distract herself with her eyes fell back on Jaune who looked to be enjoying himself if the smile on his face was anything to go by. However, something unexpected happened. A girl stepped out from behind one of the pillars. Now, this wouldn't be a problem if it hadn't looked as if the two were getting along swimmingly. She could see them laughing and talking with wide smiles. She could see her constantly invading Jaune's personal space yet he gave her no sign of dismay. From the way she pointed at things, she seemed to be knowledgeable of musical equipment and judging by her blue sundress the girl was not an employee. " _Oh great a new challenger, just what I needed."_ She started to go over there but realized that if she left there'd be no one to watch their stuff.

"Hey Cinder," chimed a new voice. Cinder spun around to find Ruby standing there with half a giant cookie in her hand and crumbs around her mouth. "Where's Jaune?" she asked before taking another bite of her cookie.

"He's in Notes Aplenty right now. Where's Yang?"

"At some clothing store," the girl answered with a shrug of the shoulders.

"Ruby, I'll be right back, mind watching our stuff for a bit?"

"Yeah I don't mind but-"

"Thanks," Cinder said quickly before dashing away. Upon entering the store she hastily searched for any sign of Jaune before hearing his voice followed by girlish giggling. Following the sound Cinder casually approached the two.

"I'm not sure if Shizuhara's mixers are any good but I do like Deviance's mixers. Hm? Oh hey, Cin," Jaune greeted as he saw Cinder come down the aisle he was in.

"Hey, Jaune," she replied with a sweet smile.

"What are you doing here? Wait, who's watching our stuff?"

"Don't worry Ruby's watching it."

* * *

"Ow!" the young red-haired girl yelped. "What the? My cookie's gone," she noted looking at her now cookieless hand. She looked at the small bakery and then back at the store Cinder ran into. "No what am I thinking? I can't leave this stuff unattended just for a cookie." Just then her stomach started growling. "Maybe I can carry it all with me, but if I do that then I won't have enough room in my hand for the cookie." Her stomach growled once more. She looked at Notes Aplenty and then back at the bakery. "The bags are in view of the shop and there's only one person in line," Ruby rationalized. "I'll be back before anything happens." The young girl then sprinted down the hall and got in line while keeping an eye on their bags.

"Welcome to Stacey's! How can I help you?" asked a bakery employee.

"Hmm, you know I'm not sure what I want," said the man in front of her. "There are so many choices."

" _Why even get in line then?"_ Ruby mentally griped.

"Take your time then," said the employee.

" _No don't tell him that!"_

"Now let's see, that looks nice but I don't like nuts. Snickerdoodles sound nice but I'm allergic to cinnamon."

" _Uugggghh!"_

* * *

"So there's no need to worry," Cinder explained.

"Okay but what are you doing in here?" he asked.

"I was getting bored so I thought I'd come in here and keep you company, but I see you've already found some," Cinder explained as she gave the girl a quick dismissive glance. The girl was quite close to Jaune's height maybe half an inch shorter, with a dark complexion, long dark brown hair, and bright honey colored eyes.

"Hmm? Oh, you mean Beatrice? Right, I haven't done any introductions. Cin this is Beatrice and Beatrice this my close friend Cinder," Jaune said as he took a step back to let them properly greet each other. The moment Jaune stepped away Cinder's eyes went wide. The woman before her was not only tall but bodacious. Like Cinder, Beatrice held a curvy figure though her hips were slimmer than Cinder's but, that wasn't the problem. The first part of the problem was Beatrice's chest, they were quite large, bigger than Cinder's own and possibly rivaling that of her mother's. She felt the word "ample" _justly_ described the woman chest. The second part was that despite her figure, Beatrice looked fairly young, as in young enough to be a high schooler. Cinder could only hope that she didn't go to their school.

"Hi," Beatrice greeted with a bright smile and an outstretched hand. "Beatrice, but my friends call me Trish."

"Hello," Cinder replied as she and Beatrice shook hands. "So, Beatrice you seem to be quite friendly with Jaune."

"We just happen to get off on the right start is all. We both happened to be looking for amps and we bumped into each other."

"Yeah, Beatrice is in a band and they needed equipment and then we just started talking and never stopped," Jaune explained.

"Really? What instrument do you play?" Cinder wondered as she stepped closer towards Jaune and linked their arms.

"Piano," she answered.

"Jaune, you play piano too don't you?" Cinder cooed as she pressed her chest against his arm.

"Forced," he told them. "I was forced to learn piano and I haven't played since I was a kid so I'm quite rusty."

"Well feel free to call me whenever you want a refresher," Beatrice suggested making Cinder's eyebrow twitch in irritation. "So Cinder do you play an instrument as well?"

Her eyebrow twitched once more, "Unfortunately no, I don't. I know a few basic guitar notes but that's all."

"I see," Beatrice said as she glanced down at the watch on her wrist. "Oh, I need to leave. Jaune you said you play guitar right?" The boy nodded, "Then would you mind possibly joining my band I'm holding auditions next Friday and we really need a guitarist, please?"

"Sorry, I'm more of a solo kind of guy."

"And I don't think he could make it anyway," Cinder interjected. "We were invited to go to a haunted house next Friday."

"Oh, I see," said Beatrice who looked a little upset by the sudden news allowing Cinder to form a haughty smirk. On the inside of course. "Well, in that case, Jaune do you mind sending me a sample of you playing guitar? I'd really like to hear you play."

"Yeah but you have to send me a sample your piano skills."

"Deal," Beatrice replied, her bright smile returning causing Cinder to lose her feeling of superiority. The two then exchanged email addresses before Beatrice departed. Jaune looked down at his scroll smiling warmly at the new name in his contact list while Cinder scowled at it. There was something different about Beatrice. It made Cinder both angry and scared. She wasn't like the other whores Cinder had driven off. Judging by how she dressed and by how she acted around Jaune, Cinder could tell that Beatrice was not looking for a quick fling. Nor did it seem as if she was trying to play a cruel joke on Jaune. While not an impossibility, Jaune and Cinder herself were quite good at picking up on those traits. No, Beatrice seemed to have a normal, _friendly_ interest in Jaune, something that could blossom from friendly to romantic. Cinder would not let that happen. To make matters worse Beatrice also seemed to hold the same amount of love for music that Jaune held and that was a major threat in Cinder's eyes.

"What's wrong?" Jaune asked having noticed Cinder's scowl.

"Hm? Oh, no nothing's wrong," she answered.

"Yes, there is," he pressed on. "You were just scowling at my scroll." He looked down at his scroll and turned back to Cinder. "Are you upset about Beatrice?"

"No, of course not," Cinder replied letting go of Jaune.

"Then tell me what's wrong," Jaune pressed.

Cinder let out a sigh before staring seductively at Jaune through half-lidded eyes. She lowered her voice to just above a whisper and spoke in a soft tone. She wrapped an arm around his waist pulled herself close to him so that her chest was pressed against his and her thigh between his legs. She then reached up and brushed a few strands of hair out of his eyes before running a hand through his scalp. "Jaune," she cooed as her hand held the back of his head. "There's nothing to worry about," she assured him. She leaned forward slightly, her lips ghosting by his as she moved to his ear. "Okay?" she whispered before moving down to his neck and planting a kiss on his throat. The kiss lasted for a few seconds before Cinder pulled away. A smirk formed on her lips as she inspected her work. A black kiss mark on Jaune's neck for all to see and while she would've preferred to leave a hickey she doubted he would let her if she started biting or sucking. Obviously, she did this to change subjects, to put Jaune in a stupor so he'd stop talking and so that she wouldn't have to speak. She didn't want to talk about this. She didn't want to talk about Beatrice or her jealousy of the girl. All she wanted to do was continue her shopping trip before going back to the Arc home to eat junk food with her friends and put this moment behind them. " _There, now he should've forgotten all about Fake Tits."_ She looked up at him and saw the face he was making. His lips were scrunched in embarrassment, with a light tint of pink on his cheeks. His eyes were on her while they still had a look of worry she could see it turning into embarrassment and annoyance. He breathed a sigh through his nose before looking away.

"Okay," he whispered. _"She's hiding something but pressing her now would get me nowhere?"_

"See?" Cinder smiled. "That wasn't so hard was it?" she said as she pecked his cheek. "Now let's get back to Ruby and Yang," she said while grabbing hold of his hand.

* * *

It was times like this when Ruby envied Jaune's height and threatening stare. Okay, that wasn't true, she always envied Jaune's height but right now she definitely envied his and Cinder's death stare. The cunt that was in front of her still couldn't make up his mind, even the clerk seemed to be getting annoyed. " _Hurry the fuck up!"_ Ruby screeched in her mind. Finally fed up with the man's indecisiveness Ruby furiously tapped the man's back.

"Hm?" the man turned around to look down at Ruby. "Yes, can I help you?"

"Hey, buddy," Ruby said giving the man a friendly smile that couldn't overshadow the dagger-filled glare she was giving him. "Why don't you just order a chocolate chip cookie and be done with it. You're holding up the line."

"Oh, I'm so sorry little girl," the man apologized.

" _Well, at least you've got good manners,"_ thought Ruby.

"I'll have that chocolate chip cookie," the man said as he pointed at one of the cookies on display. Ruby didn't see which one and she didn't care so as long he got the hell out of her way.

"Sure thing sir," said the now relaxed clerk. After ringing up the man's total she handed him the cookie and man finally left, hopefully never to be seen again. "Ma'am may I help you?" asked the clerk.

"Yes, one giant chocolate chip, please."

"I'm sorry but he just took the last one," the clerk explained pointing at the man who just left the stall.

A thin smile spread across Ruby's lips. "What?"

"He took the last one," the clerk said once more. Ruby turned towards the man's direction, now no longer envying Jaune or Cinder's death glare having now mastered one on her own. However, she now envied how the two always carried a knife and their ability to use one. Then it dawned on her. She didn't need a knife. She had something better. Suddenly the girl took a deep breath.

"Yang!" she screamed.

"Huh?! What?! What is it?!" questioned the older girl wondering why her sister screamed her name.

"Th-that man," Ruby tearlessly sobbed, "he, he took my cookie," she said while pointing off in the distance.

"What?" Yang growled dropping her bags. She marched over to where Ruby had pointed and grabbed a stranger by the wrist and twisted back causing them to howl in pain.

"Yang!" Ruby screamed once more, "Wrong guy."

"Sorry," Yang said with an apologetic smile before moving on the next stranger. She grabbed them by the wrist and turned back to Ruby while pointing at the man that had a cookie in his hand. The young girl nodded giving Yang the green light. She twisted his arm back at an uncomfortable angle. "Excuse me but who the fuck do you think you are thinking that it's okay to steal from a little girl?"

"Wh-wha?" The man replied confused as to why he was being tortured and interrogated by a teenage girl. "I-I didn't steal anything," the man pleaded. Yang twisted his arm even further causing him to cry out in pain.

"First you steal from a little girl and then you lie about it? God, you're pathetic," Yang scoffed. "Ruby!" she called. The young girl was next to her in an instant with her best sad puppy look. "Give her the cookie," Yang demanded.

"But I paid for this cookie," the man tried to explain.

"Give her the cookie!" Yang demanded once more twisted his arm even further. The man then shoved the cookie into Ruby's chest.

"Thanks, Yang," Ruby said as she gave her sister a hug.

"No problem little sis," Yang replied sweetly. She looked back at the man cowering in front of her and growled. "I wanna let you know that you got off easy. If my friends were here you'd be wiped from existence, but if I ever see your ass again we'll be usin' you to redecorate, capiche?" The man nodded furiously. "Okay then," she then let go of the man allowing him to scamper off far away from her. "All right Ruby let's," Yang began but paused when she noticed the lack of her sister. "Ruby?"

Said girl was now sitting back at the bench where Cinder told her to watch their stuff. It seemed like she made it back just in time too as Jaune and Cinder were now walking out of Notes Aplenty. "Hey guys," she greeted. "What'd you buy from Notes Jaune?"

"I bought a new mixer and I ordered two new amps," he told her.

"What about you Cinder, did you buy anything?"

"N-no, no I didn't," answered Cinder who didn't sound all the way there as her eyes were focused on something. "Hey, Ruby didn't you have half of a giant cookie before I left?"

Ruby stiffened as her eyes went wide, "Um," she began as she searched for an answer with sweat dripping down her brow. "Y-yang got me a new one. Yeah! Yeah, that's what happened." The two older teens shared a look before looking back at Ruby.

"You left our stuff to get another cookie didn't you?" Jaune asked.

"Nooo," Ruby said before taking a bite of her cooking and slowly turning away from the two.

"We'll deal with you later," Cinder interjected. "Where's Yang?"

"Right here," said girl answered as she stepped into view.

"Good, now we can get back to shopping," Cinder announced.

"You wanna do more?" Jaune asked dumbfounded by Cinder's statement.

"Well yeah we're not done, you need a suit for Halloween there are other things that still need to be done Jaune." A very depressed sigh escaped Jaune's lips as he gathered the bags at Ruby's feet. "Oh don't be dramatic," Cinder jested, receiving a glare from Jaune. A soft chuckle was her response, "Tell you what, you survive the rest of the day and I'll give you a reward," she suggested punctuating her sentence with a kiss on the cheek and a hip bump against his crotch.

"Hey," Ruby warned.

"What?" Cinder asked.

"You promised to keep it to a minimum," Ruby reminded.

"That _was_ a minimum," Cinder replied.

"No, it wasn't."

"Uh, yeah it was."

"Stop arguing," Jaune interrupted in a very annoyed tone, "so we can go and get this shit over with, I'm tired of being here." A half-hearted "fine" was said by both girls before Jaune picked up the bags. After turning around he immediately bumped into someone. "Oh sorr-" Jaune froze.

"Oh, hi Jaune!"

* * *

 **Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I will, hopefully, see you all in the first of Black Hands. Either that or the next chapter of Three Goth Dorks.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, it's been a while since so I thought why not crank out a new one. So first off long chapter, its a little longer than what normally do so you've been warned. Second, some interesting things happen in this chapter, nothing too juicy or controversial but still interesting. Anyway on with the story.**

* * *

"S-Sabrina?" Jaune stuttered. Jaune was more than surprised to find his eldest sister, the sister he wanted to have the least amount of contact with, currently at the same mall as them with an incredibly happy look on her face. His luck was truly horrible. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Shopping," she answered. "What else? Oh, that doesn't matter come 'ere, give your big sister a hug." She suddenly grabbed him by the arm, pulled him into a bear hug, and peppered him with kisses. Jaune could feel every muscle in his body tense the moment she touched him. "Oh, baby bro I've missed you so much. I haven't seen you since my last deployment." Jaune said nothing as the slightly taller woman continued to gush over him. He just couldn't comprehend it. Vale had at _least_ six malls and the one where they were currently was nowhere near her apartment. So why was she here?

"Sabe," Cinder called. "You're choking him."

"Huh?" she wondered looking over at Cinder before looking down at Jaune and seeing him beginning to blackout. "Oh," Sabrina gasped, "I'm sorry Jaune," she then let go of her brother allowing him to breathe once more. "You okay," she asked while gripping his shoulders. She looked him over, making sure he wasn't visibly injured.

"I'm fine," he snapped while hastily stepping away from her. "What do you want Sabrina?"

"Nothing, I just happen to run into you guys. Hey, why don't we all hang out for a bit and catch up, doesn't that sound fun Jaune?"

"As, _fun,_ as that sounds Sabrina, we were just about to leave." Jaune voiced.

"No, we weren't," Ruby interjected. "We were just about to do more shopping," she explained causing Jaune and Cinder to give her two painfully sharp glares. However, Ruby was too busy looking at Sabrina to notice their stares.

Sabrina frowned before turning to Jaune and cocked her head. She cupped his chin and turned him towards her, causing him to shift his eyes away from her. "Jaune?" she called with a voice filled with sorrow. "Why'd you lie to me?" Jaune swallowed and opened his mouth but no sound came out.

"It was because," Cinder voiced trying to cover for her friend. "We've got a friend with us and we didn't want to hear the 'harem' joke. Plus we at the mall, you know Jaune hates shopping."

"Y-yeah," Jaune said as he pulled away from Sabrina.

"Oh," Sabrina said her frown instantly vanishing, she then looked over at Yang smiled and waved. "Hi." she greeted. "You must be Yang, I'm Sabrina, Jaune's eldest sister. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too," Yang replied as she returned Sabrina's greeting with a wave of her own.

"Hello, Ruby," Sabrina greeted.

"Hi," the young girl greeted back.

Sabrina then turned back to Jaune, "Jaune you didn't need to lie because of that. I'm not gonna tease you for _only_ having female friends," she said with a small smile. "And I promise not to make you carry everything."

"Thanks," Jaune said in a low voice.

"No prob," Sabrina replied, not knowing that his 'thanks' was not aimed at her. "But since you guys are still shopping how about letting me come along?"

"We'd like too but we don't wanna take up any of your time," said Cinder. "With your job, I'm sure you must be very busy."

"Oh, not at all," Sabrina replied. "I've got a couple of months off, so I'm as free as a bird."

"I-I see," Cinder said with a strained smile, "Well then, come." Sabrina squeaked with joy before grabbing Jaune by the arm and rushing ahead of Cinder. "Ugh," Cinder groaned into her palms. "This just got needlessly complicated."

* * *

"So Sabe," Cinder spoke while inspecting a shelf of snow globes, "to what do we owe the pleasure?"

"Well, I just got done dropping Kerby off," Sabrina explained, "and needed some things for my apartment and this was the closest mall so I came here, and as luck would have it I ran into my favorite brother."

" _I'm your only brother,"_ Jaune refrained from saying.

"So Jaune," his sister asked in a loving voice, "how have you been?"

"I-I've been, well," Jaune croaked out. "What about you?" he asked in a strained voice.

"I've been well too, gramps has been giving me missions back to back but most of them were pretty easy. On one mission I even met this girl from Atlas military, she was one of their specialists. At first, I thought she seemed super serious and boring but turns out, she's pretty cool. She's in Vale right now and I want the two of you to meet, I think you'll really hit it off." That would've angered Cinder if she hadn't known that Jaune would not be interested in any of Sabrina's military friends and having said friends being ten years, give or take, older also helped.

"That's, nice," Jaune croaked. It was quite strenuous for him to speak with his sister let alone look her in the eye. A complete far cry from how things used to be. In the past, Jaune admired Sabrina, greatly in fact even despite her constant babying of him. However, about a year ago those feelings of trust and admiration were nearly replaced with a new feeling Jaune couldn't quite describe.

"What did she mean by 'missions' she in the military or somethin'," Yang whispered to Ruby as they followed behind the pair of blondes.

"Sort of," Ruby whispered back. "Jaune's family owns a private military company and Sabrina works there. Their dad does as well it's why our dad and theirs are good friends." That threw Yang for a serious loop. Not once during the entire time she knew Jaune did she ever suspect his family of owning a private military. Well, honestly why the hell would she? However, it did explain why he was good at fighting, belonging to a family that owned a PMC probably meant you had some serious combat training. It did seem to also explain his violent nature, however, Sabrina seemed to be nothing like her brother. She was a lot brighter and cheery and much less goth than her brother. She probably had a better grip on her temper than he did his own.

"So Sabrina," Yang began, "Ruby tells me that your family owns a PMC." The other three teens visibly turned to stone the moment the words left Yang's mouth, though mostly for different reasons. Luckily for Yang Sabrina spoke before the others act.

"Uh," Sabrina said as she looked from side to side. "That's not something I can say out in public, but if you're interested I can tell you a few things about it another time in a place away from prying eyes."

"I don't mind," Yang replied. The trio of goths breathed a small sigh of relief but each made a reminder to keep Yang from talking about Jaune's family business. "But why can't you speak about it public?"

"How often do you see PMC commercials?" asked Sabrina.

"Uh, never now that I think about it."

"That's because PMC's are meant to be kept out of the public eye. Now obviously the people still know about them even though we can't really advertise ourselves through regular means, however, most of that's due to the long existence of mercenaries and their use in pop culture."

"I see."

"All right Sabrina," Jaune interjected he was getting sick of their talk about his family's company and of mercenaries. "Hurry up and grab what you're looking for so we can leave."

"But I don't know what to buy," she told him.

Jaune blinked, "What? What do you mean you don't know what to buy?"

"Well, I didn't come here looking for something in particular, I just came in hoping to find something to help spice up my apartment." Jaune breathed deeply through his nose before looking around. After grabbing a random snowglobe off a shelf he handed it to Sabrina.

"Here," he told her, "buy this so we can leave." Looking down at the snowglobe Sabrina's face lit up like a star.

"Oh Jaune, this is perfect!" she squealed. "You're the best little brother," she cheered before kissing him on both cheeks.

"Go buy it already," he said while swatting her away. Jaune sighed when she turned away from him. She'd only been there for a few minutes and was already draining him. _"I hope she won't be here for long."_

* * *

An hour had passed and it possibly may have been the worst hour of his life. Constantly Jaune had to deal with Sabrina's antics. Whether it was trying to hold his hand so he didn't get lost or trying to order him kids meals in an effort to get him the toy that came with, all of it was both mentally and physically draining. One part of him still loved his sister, another part couldn't stand to be around her. That second part seemed to be growing in size at the moment while the other seemed to be shrinking. At least she stayed true to her word and didn't make him carry everything she bought in fact, she didn't make him carry anything. Her trip to the mall was meant to be a short one meaning that she would be leaving soon, making Jaune brighten up just a bit. On the inside of course. "Aw, little brother I'm gonna miss you," Sabrina moaned as she pulled him into a hug and planted a kiss atop his head. Jaune groaned softly. After this, he hoped the two would continue to have these rare meetings as he wished to avoid her as much as possible. "Promise me you'll come visit every once in a while or call me as well?" That _was_ what he'd hoped anyway until Sabrina essentially grabbed him by the balls.

Jaune swallowed hard, "Y-yeah," he replied. What, was he supposed to do say "no"? She pulled him into another bone-crushing hug. "Sabrina," Jaune groaned. "You're, crushing me."

"Oh, sorry," she said sheepishly. "Okay, see you guys later," she said with a wave

"See you later Sabe," Cinder replied.

"Bye Sabrina," said Ruby.

"See ya," said Yang.

"Bye," said Jaune. She waved them goodbye one final time before making her way towards the exit. When she was out of earshot Cinder had noticed that Jaune began to relax. His shoulders were slack, his breathing was a lot deeper, and she could see his facial muscles losing their tension. He then turned to Cinder, "All right, what's next?"

"Home," she said surprising him.

"I thought you said we had more stuff to buy?" Jaune asked with a raised eyebrow.

Cinder turned towards him and cupped his cheek, "You've been tortured enough for one day." A small yet warm smile touched his lips, and she smiled back. He was eager to leave and she was happy to see him smile at her. Then her smiled faded. "I have to pee. Like, really badly. Hold this," she said as she thrust her bags into his chest before running across the corridor into a narrow hallway and turning left to the ladies room. Opening the door she rushed to the last stall and hurriedly closed its door behind her and squatted down onto the toilet. "Oh thank god," she sighed. "Almost pissed myself in front of him." A small sorrow-filled chuckle left her lips. " _He probably wouldn't care too much,"_ she said mentally. " _He'd tease me a little while helping clean up before trying to cheer me up and take my mind off it."_ Her smile from earlier returned, she still cringed at the thought of wetting herself in front Jaune but thinking of him always managed to brighten her mood. Even if only by a little bit. The door to the ladies room then squeaked open but she made no note of it. She did, however, make note of the lack of footsteps. " _Those are some pretty light steps. I really hope it's just some featherweight."_ She looked down at the space beneath the stall door. She saw a shadow cast onto the floor and the front of someone's shoes. " _You're shitting me,"_ Cinder inwardly groaned. Another sigh came out as she analyzed her situation. " _Let's see. They're wearing boots and they look too big to be female, so definitely male. Judging by their positioning they're about a foot behind the door which means they're not looking through the openings."_ Reaching into the pocket on her pouch she pulled out her scroll and quickly sent a text to Jaune.

* * *

"Hmm?" Jaune hummed as he reached for his scroll. Opening it revealed a text from Cinder. It read as follows [ READ EVERYTHING FIRST. There's a man in the restroom with me. But DO NOT freak out! If I'm not out in five minutes, breach.] "The fuck?"

"What's wrong Jaune?" Ruby asked.

"It's this text Cin just sent me," he explained as he showed it to Ruby.

"The fuck? Do you think she's serious?" Ruby wondered. Just then Jaune received another text. [Yes. I'm serious. In case you were wondering. Five minutes starting now.]

* * *

Putting away her scroll she then pulled out the steel knuckle duster she bought earlier, " _I knew this would come in handy,"_ she thought and pulled out a knife from one of her boots for good measure. Pulling up her leggings and shorts Cinder flushed the toilet signaling her would-be attacker that she'd be out soon. After putting her fingers through the knuckle duster, Cinder audibly unlocked the stall door and slowly pulled it open. Before the door opened even an inch it was slammed open by a tall man in black. He was greeted by a strong boot to the stomach. He doubled over clutching his stomach. Looking back at his attacker he saw a fist inching towards his face. Cinder repeatedly slammed her fist into his face causing the man to put his arms up in defense and back away. She then shoved her toes into his ribs.

"Fuck! Ugh, you bitch!" he grunted as he clutched his chest. Cinder smiled smugly and followed with an overhead punch to the side of his head. His head violently jerked to the right but was soon set straight by Cinder gripping his hair. Again she slammed her fist into his face over and over again until he collapsed to the ground. Clutching his face as he moaned in agony. Cinder let out a breath of victory as she stepped by him to wash her hands when she saw something on the floor.

"Oh my god," she said while laughing. "Is that your wallet?" she asked mockingly as she picked up the brown wallet of the floor. Opening it showed her attacker's ID. "Donald," Cinder giggled mockingly. "Well Donald, you really fucked this one up. I mean really who the hell brings their wallet _with_ their ID with them when they're committing a fucking crime?!" Cinder punctuated with a kick to the stomach as he was starting to get back up. She then leaned down and punched the back of his head before grabbing his arm and twisting it behind his back while digging her heel into his lower back. "Now let's see here," she said as she took another look at the ID. "Hey, Donald this your first time kidnapping or whatever it is you're trying to do?"

"Fuck you!" he replied. Cinder responded by yanking his arm back and putting more force into her heel.

"Answer me bitch, or I'll start cutting fingers," Cinder threatened as she placed the blade of her knife on his index finger.

"When my boys get-" he didn't finish as Cinder began sawing into his finger. "Aw fuck! Okay! Okay! No this isn't my first time kidnapping!"

"And what were you planning on doing with me?"

"W- argh! We were gonna auction you off."

"Hm," Cinder hummed just before jamming the knife into his hand. She twisted and turned the blade before slowly dragging the blade down his hand. All while Donald howled in pain. "Donald, do you know who I am?"

"N-no."

"Really? I don't look familiar to you at all?"

"No, I've never seen you in my life. I swear."

"Huh. Now Donald says here that you live right here in Vale, but where are you from."

"Vale," he answered, "born and raised."

"I'll ask this again," she said while wiggling the knife that was still embedded into his hand.

"That the truth I swear!" he pleaded.

"Really, you were born and raised in Vale, have knowledge of its criminal underworld, but you don't know who I am? Boy, you must be really fucking stupid," Cinder giggled. "Tell me does name Fall mean anything to you?"

"Uh, th-the big crime family that runs the Vale? You mean them?"

"Uh-huh. Now, do you know their leader's name?"

"Salem Fall."

"Do know her daughter's name?"

"Cinder Fall."

"So, let me get this straight. You know the daughter's name, _my_ name, but not my face? You kidnap and auction off little girls at random but didn't think to learn the face of the daughter to the biggest mob family in the city?" She twisted the knife again as he let out a few pathetic whimpers. She opened her mouth to speak but heard a commotion from outside and smiled. "Looks like that's all the time we have today Donald," she then pulled out the knife and wiped it on his sleeve. "As thanks for answering my questions, I'll have someone send you a gift in the mail. Oh, and I'll be keeping this," she said flashing his ID as she made her way to the door.

"Cin?!" she heard Jaune call just before bursting in. "Cinder?!" he called upon entering. His eyes said it all. Worry, fear, and above all an unrivaled animosity that was so cold, she was sure the temperature dropped a few degrees. She shivered in delight. She just loved it when he got like this. Jaune crashed into her with a strong embrace. Tightly wrapping his arms around her like a child with a stuffed toy.

"Mm," she moaned as she returned his embrace. Despite his cold fury, he gave off a wonderful amount of body heat. Unfortunately, it didn't last too long as Jaune pushed her away. She looked up at him wondering why her 'Don't ever leave me' hug was cut short until she saw him marching towards Donald as the man began to get up. The march turned into a run, and suddenly Jaune was in the air with a fist pulled back, and a second later Jaune had descended upon Donald with his fist crashing into the man's face. The two toppled to the ground with Jaune on top as he began to viciously beat Donald. Rather rain down on him with both fists Jaune grabbed Donald by the hair and beat into him with his left hand. Loud slow tempoed thuds filled the room as Jaune continued to slowly beat Donald. The man tried to fight back punching at Jaune face, chest and stomach but no matter how solid the hit Jaune was unfazed. The pain from Donald punches didn't register in Jaune's mind. The only thing on Jaune's mind was the need to put the man in his grave.

"Hey," he heard someone whisper into his ear. Jaune froze as a soft hand gently closed around his wrist. "It's okay, you got 'em already." He felt an arm wrap around his chest from behind as he was slowly pulled into a gentle hug. "I'm okay," said the voice. A kiss was placed on the back of his neck before hearing, "I'm okay."

Jaune released a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Cin," he whispered.

"I'm okay," she repeated before kissing his neck once more. "He didn't hurt me." Jaune looked down at what remained of Donald. Blood. Donald's face was a bloody mess as it poured from everywhere. From his mouth, his nose and even from a gash above his right eye. Jaune released Donald's hair and stood. He turned around to see Ruby and Yang staring at him. Yang looked away when his gaze landed on her. Ruby, on the other hand, rushed towards him and enveloped him in a tight hug.

"You're scary when you do that," said Ruby breaking the silence.

"Mhm," Cinder agreed resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he told them wrapping a single arm around Ruby.

"Don't be," Ruby said. "You look extra cool when you get really angry and start beating someone. Plus, it makes me feel safe when I'm around you like I know no one'll mess with me with you behind me."

"Yeah, and girls like someone who can make them feel safe," added Cinder.

Jaune let a small chuckle before hugging the both of them, "Thanks, now let's leave before his goons come in."

After leaving the restroom Cinder was met with the sight of two men propped against the door to the mens room both were nearly unconscious and she could see bruises starting to form.

"Those his cronies?" Cinder asked.

Jaune nodded, "Yang helped."

"Oh, that was quite nice of you Yang, thank you. I mean it."

"Y-yeah don't mention it," Yang replied hardly above a whisper.

"They didn't happen to their wallets on them did they?" Cinder asked with a gleeful grin.

"Didn't check," answered Jaune. "Why?"

"Because that moron," Cinder said while jamming a thumb at the door behind them, "Donald, had his with his ID in it."

"No way," Ruby scoffed.

"You serious?" Jaune asked with a chuckle.

"Check it." Cinder pulled out the ID and showed them.

"Mmm, can't really tell if that's him," said Jaune.

"Gotta agree with Jaune on this," said Ruby.

"Well, of course, you can't tell you beat him to a damn pulp," said Cinder. "Trust me though it's him. I'm gonna check those losers for an ID so I can them a little somethin' in the mail."

"Can't," Jaune answered. "We need to leave before someone sees this."

"Ugh, fine," Cinder groaned.

* * *

Jaune sighed as he leaned back into the passenger seat of Cinder's car. They'd left that awful place called 'the mall' about thirty minutes ago and were now headed back to his place. He cast a glance at Cinder. She seemed fine. " _She should be,"_ he told himself. " _She's strong, smart, and the heir to a mob family."_ But there was still a few nagging questions in the back of his mind, such as 'What if he hadn't been there?' " _No. Stop. It's over just put it behind you. Thinking about 'what ifs' will just fill you with fear and rage."_ While he may have been able to push the thought of Cinder being taken out of his mind, the situation as a whole still lingered. He looked down at his hand which at one point was covered in blood. The image of Donald's bloody face flashed in his mind. He also remembered Ruby and Yang's faces. He clenched his fist. " _Ruby, she looked at me like I was a different person. She said she didn't mind but still, I don't think I've ever shown her that side of me. And Yang. She's been acting weird since it happened. Fuck. Now she might double down on trying to keep me away from Ruby. All that progress thrown out in an instant. Dammit."_ He looked back at Cinder once more. " _It could've been a lot worse. If she hadn't calmed me down I might have killed him."_ Jaune's body shook from the thought.

"You okay?" Cinder wondered. Was she watching him?

"Yeah I'm fine," Jaune told her.

"You just shivered," she retorted.

"It was just a weird chill running up my spine."

"Okay." " _He's probably lying but I can't press it here,"_ Cinder said mentally as she looked in her rearview mirror, seeing Ruby and Yang in the back seat. Yang was asleep but Ruby was wide awake. " _He's probably thinking about what happened which is more than likely stressing him out unnecessarily."_ She turned on her radio hoping the noise would help keep his mind off it. As for herself? She didn't need to think about it. She knew that nothing would've happened to her. Even if she got kidnapped all of the "auction houses" knew her name and face, fore shortly after her birth her father made a rule and showed the consequences of breaking that rule. It was a rule her mother still enforced. She also knew that both her family business and Jaune's would tear Vale apart looking for her. So she had nothing to fear. Except, for her chastity. " _No, they wouldn't. Touching me would decrease my value. Right? No. It doesn't-. It doesn't matter that's all in the past. I'm safe and my hymen is intact."_ She took another glance at Ruby who was absent-mindedly looking out the window. "Hey Ruby," she called, "you okay?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah I'm fine."

"You sure? If you wanna talk you know we're here for you," Cinder offered. "Right Jaune."

"Of course. That was a harrowing situation that could've ended in a completely different way. You sure you don't wanna talk about it?"

"Guys, I'm _fine_. Look I know things could've ended a lot worse, but it didn't and I'm fine with that. I don't think we should dwell on 'what could've happened' and instead we should just learn from this experience and move on." The two older teens looked over at one another.

"That was, surprisingly adult for a thirteen-year-old," said Cinder.

"Thank you."

"Yeah quite mature for someone who still freaks out at the sight of a spider," Jaune teased. Ruby crossed and pouted while Cinder giggled. Her giggling stopped once she turned down Jaune's street.

In Jaune's driveway was a black limo. "Hey Jaune, who's that?" Cinder wondered as she inched closer to his house.

"Don't know," he shrugged.

The car soon pulled stop with Cinder parking beside the limo. "It looks vaguely familiar," Cinder said before shrugging it off. Once Ruby had awoken Yang the four pulled their haul from Cinder's trunk and made their way towards the front door. Opening it the four were greeted by a large black and white husky.

"Little Kerby!" Ruby squealed. She held out her arms as the dog jumped on her and began to happily lick her face.

"Kerberos, down," Jaune ordered. Kerberos obeyed his master getting off of Ruby and back away allowing them to enter while shaking with extreme excitement. "Mom!" Jaune called out, "We're home!"

"We'll be there soon sweetheart!" she called back.

"We?" Cinder asked as she reached down to pet Kerberos who was still shaking excitedly.

"The person who owned the limo?" he suggested. "Or it could be a friend of hers or my sisters."

"Hi babies," Rayna greeted when she walked into the entrance area wearing a thin white sweater and black leggings, then she noticed Jaune's face. "Jaune what happened?!" she screamed rushing over to Jaune and inspected his face. She could see bruises beginning to form along with dried around his lip.

"I got into a fight, nothing to worry about," he explained while pulling away from her.

Rayna sighed, "Go put some ice on those." She then zeroed in on Cinder. "You," she said with a pointed finger. "We're gonna a little chat."

Cinder looked back with a raised eyebrow. "Me? W-what did I do?" she asked with a slightly paler face.

"Now don't be so dramatic Rayna after all she's not in _too_ much trouble," said another voice one that drained what little color was left Cinder's face. There, closing in on them, was a tall pale-skinned woman with long platinum blonde hair dressed in a long black dress.

"M-mother," Cinder stuttered with her hand desperately trying to get ahold of Jaune's. She ended up settling for his wrist.

"Hello dear," she greeted her eyes then glanced over to Jaune. "Why, Jaune I almost didn't recognize you. Come," she ordered as she held an arm. Jaune set down his bags and glanced up at Cinder when she tightened her grip on his wrist. The look in her eyes said 'don't leave me' but he clearly didn't get the message as he stepped over to her mother and gave her a welcoming embrace. "It's good to see you, dear."

"It's nice to see you as well Miss Fall," he replied breaking the embrace.

"I see you've grown into such a handsome young man, and quite the brawler," she said as she took him by the chin looking him over. Her eyes then glanced over to Ruby and Yang, "You've even become quite popular as well. Cinder must have a hard time keeping you to herself." Both Jaune and Cinder blushed profusely.

"Not hard enough apparently," said Rayna as she inspected the lipstick mark on his throat. Salem chuckled softly while Rayna gave Cinder a look that said 'We'll talk later'.

"Cinder," Salem called. "Why don't you introduce me to the rest of your friends."

"U-um, mother this is my close friend, Ruby," she said stiffly as she gestured at the young redhead. "And her sister Yang."

"H-hello, nice to meet you," Ruby waved shyly.

"U-uh hi," said Yang in an unusually shy manner.

"Well it's nice to meet both of you but if you all could excuse us I need to talk with my daughter, alone please."

"Okay," Yang said quickly grabbing as many bags she could. "Come on Ruby," she said as the two headed for Jaune's room. Jaune walked back over Cinder and grabbed the last of the shopping bags before looking at back Cinder. He gave her a reassuring look with a soft smile and stealthily gave her hand a gentle squeeze before leaving.

"I'll be in the kitchen then call if you need anything," offered Rayna.

"Thank you, Rayna." With that Rayna left the two of them alone. Salem turned her attention back Cinder causing the girl to stiffen at her gaze. "Come," Salem ordered. Cinder followed her mother into the living room with her eyes glued to the floor. "Sit," she ordered. Cinder obeyed sitting down on one of the couches with her mother sitting next to her. "Look at me." Hesitantly, Cinder raised her head to her mother and braced for the incoming slap. Only for it to never come. "If you're waiting for me to hit you know that I will not hit you in someone else's home," Salem explained. "Especially not in the Arc household. Now tell me, what would possess you to not only ignore both your date and I but to also disobey my orders on coming home."

Cinder looked away and began stuttering, "A-, I-." She shook nervously as she began to fidget with her fingers.

After a few moments, Cinder went quiet. Salem sighed. "Well, if you cannot answer me perhaps it's best if I take you home to deliver your punishment," she suggested causing Cinder to gasp sharply.

"No!" she nearly screeched.

Salem turned back to her and raised an eyebrow. "No?" she questioned.

"P-please no," Cinder corrected in a much quieter voice.

"And why shouldn't I?"

"B-because I didn't want to go home," Cinder answered. Salem arched her eyebrow further. "I ignored you because I didn't want to go home."

"Well that part is quite obvious Cinder but I need you to tell me why you don't want to be at home."

"I didn't want to go on the date. I don't want to go on a date with Luca, he's a pervert. He's always looking at me with lustful eyes and I can tell that he's thinking about me."

"Is that no different from how you look at Jaune? Emerald's told me about how you look at him and he's always in those fantasies you have written in your diary. By the way, Arc_Fall22 is not a secure password." A horrified look was on Cinder's face as she turned the color of a ripe tomato.

"Th-th-that's different! Luca Toro and I nothing alike! I don't look at Jaune like he's a piece of meat like how Luca does when he sees me. Luca openly stares at my chest and rear despite me clearly noticing. I've even noticed him looking at you, Emerald, and the other maids. He almost groped me once. He is a pig and nothing more."

"Well, I wouldn't have to put you on dates with _pigs_ if you'd confess to Jaune already but, judging by your mark on him I'd guess things are now in full swing, correct?"

Cinder deflated, "N-no. I marked him because I was jealous of a girl he was talking to earlier."

Salem sighed once more, "I see."

"But things are progressing," Cinder hurriedly added. "Earlier today I was able to able to make a few moves on Jaune. So I am progressing, it's just a little slow."

"'Slow' would not even begin to describe the speed of your progress." Cinder flinched at her retort. "Perhaps you need more incentive."

Cinder's eyes were wide as dinner plates. "Wh-what do you mean, I have plenty of incentive."

"Oh believe me you will. We're done here Cinder." Salem then rose from her seat. Cinder looked down in defeat and began to rise as well. She followed her mother out of the room before Salem spoke again. "Cinder a piece of advice. Tell Jaune how you feel now before someone else comes along and snatches him out from under you. Rayna! I'm leaving!"

"Okay!" she called before quickly walking into the entrance hall. There she saw Cinder with her head hung in defeat. "Are you taking Cinder?"

Salem then turned to her daughter. "Monday," she said causing Cinder to snap her head up at Salem. "I will see you on Monday after school is that understood?"

Cinder eyes lit up and a bright smile graced her lips. "Ye-!" Cinder caught herself from screaming. "Y-yes ma'am."

"Good," Salem replied. She then turned to Rayna, "Rayna it was so good to see you again. I had fun catching up."

"It was great seeing you as well," Rayna said as she hugged her fellow mother, "and I had fun as well."

"Goodbye, Cinder," she said before placing a kiss atop the girl's head.

"Goodbye, mother." Salem turned around and left without another word. However before Selem could open the door to her limo she heard Cinder call to her, "Mother!"

"Yes, child?" she asked turning back around.

"I need you to find someone for me," Cinder explained.

"Asking me for a favor when I just granted you one? You most certainly are pushing your luck, don't you agree?"

"Please? Trust me you'll be interested in this too once you hear me out," Cinder said as she pulled out Donald's ID and handed it to Salem.

"What is this?"

"Earlier today I was almost kidnapped and well, that's his ID. He was foolish enough to bring his wallet and ID with him." Salem's eyes darkened at the man's picture. Rage began to consume her as she thought of the many ways to punish, Donald. "It might be hard to find him," she added. "Jaune had beaten him to a bloody pulp when he rescued me so he may not look exactly like his photo." A smile spread across Salem's lips. She always knew there was a reason to like the boy. "He also had two others with him, they dealt with by Jaune before they come help, Donald. However, I was unable to check for IDs."

"I see," Salem said as she began to regain her composure. "Well, they will all suffer the cost of his foolishness. I will call you once they are found. In the meantime remember to bring Jaune to our home one night. I'd like to personally thank him for his bravery and actions," Salem finished as she lowered herself into the limo. "Be safe," she said finally. Running back into Jaune's house, Rayna stood at the waiting for Cinder before closing and locking it behind her. She then turned around to find Cinder only to notice the girl at the top of the stairs hugging Jaune.

"Cinder," she called. The two friends looked down at her. She made a "Come closer" gesture with her finger, "You're not off the hook yet young lady." Cinder looked back at Jaune worried.

"Mom?" Jaune questioned.

"This has nothing to do with you Jaune," she told him. "And go wipe that lipstick off your neck."

"What lipstick?" Jaune wondered.

"Cinder," Rayna called once more this time in a much firmer voice.

"Coming," she said back before walking downstairs.

"Jaune go clean up," Rayna ordered. Jaune obeyed and walked into the nearest bathroom. Cinder stood at the base of the stairs in front of Rayna waiting for her to berate her about the mark she left on Jaune. "With me," Rayna ordered as she walked towards the kitchen.

* * *

A long sigh came out of Cinder's mouth as she laid in silence. Rayna was not forgiving about Cinder marking Jaune. She was fine with Cinder showing a little extra skin but she found marking him on the neck to be too sexual. She'd also found out about her, and Ruby, sleeping in the same bed as Jaune even though she'd long forbidden Cinder from doing so. Cinder blamed the Arc sisters for that one. So as punishment she forced them to go to sleep earlier than usual and that all three girls had to sleep in rooms different from Jaune. " _At least I still have his hoodie,"_ Cinder told herself trying to look on the bright side. She brought the black hoodie with white cartoon dog skeletons up to her nose and inhaled deeply. "Mmm," she shuddered. She loved his scent. She couldn't get enough of it. A hot gasp came out when she felt a stirring in her loins. She reached down below the hoodie and touched her panty clad honey pot. She kept her mouth closed to keep her moans from being heard as she began to rub a finger back and forth. Should she? She's all alone and it had been a while. But this wasn't her bed and what if she made a mess? It wasn't like she could have Emerald clean it up before anyone noticed. Best to wait till her shower in the morning to rub one out. She pulled her finger away and tried to go to sleep. Suddenly her cracked open.

"Cin?" Oh, shit.

"Yeah?" she whispered. She turned around on the bed to face him just as he closed the door behind him. She turned on the lamp next to her so they could see.

"You okay?" he asked sitting next to her.

"Yeah I'm fine," she said as she pulled herself to a sitting position. Her cheeks then went red, "Um, how much did you hear when my mom was here?"

"Honestly not much," he told her, "I couldn't really hear you two over the sound of my mom in the kitchen." Cinder let out a sigh of relief as there were things her mother said that she'd rather have go with her to the grave than let Jaune know about. "By the way," he began as his eyes grew darker and their normal cold stare grew even colder. His anger from earlier had returned and boy did she feel hot underneath that hoodie. She had to unzip herself a little in order to keep from burning up. "Who the hell is Luca Toro?" In her head, Cinder weighed her options. Option 1: torture Luca herself and keep Jaune not only out jail but free of mental trauma or option 2: let Jaune brutally torture Luca in her name as if he'd caught Luca lechering at his woman. Shirtless. Jaune would be shirtless from sweat dripping down his chest. Torture was hard work after all. He'd even have a few flecks of blood on his face and chest-. What was she doing again? Oh right.

"Don't worry about him," she said as she cupped his jaw, "he's just a pig being prepared for slaughter." Jaune held his steeled gaze causing her blush to deepen before relenting.

"Okay," he whispered. He then leaned forward and pulled her into a warm gentle hug.

Cinder lovingly returned his embrace. They stayed that way for about a minute before Cinder whispered, "Jaune."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for saving me." Then she pulled away and stared into his eyes. Slowly she drew closer to him. Eventually, their lips touched, it was only for a few moments for soon after the teens jolted in realization of what they were doing. The two looked away with blushes so deep one might think they'd faint from lack of circulation.

After a few moments of silence, Jaune cleared his throat, "Uh, n-no problem Cin," he said bashfully. "You don't have to thank me, seriously. While it may be a little cheesy, that doesn't make it any less true when I say that you beeing here safe and sound is all the thanks I need." Suddenly he felt something gently close around his hand. Looking down he saw her fingers gently caressing his own. His eyes trailed up her arm and landed on her chest. She'd unzipped the hoodie far enough to reveal her bra which brought back the memory of her little fashion show from earlier. Except now he could see her milk squirters a bit more clearly. His eyes lingered more one more moment before being dragged up to her face. She was bashfully staring at him out the corner of her eye. "S-sorry, I didn't mean stare."

"It's okay," she said. "I don't mind if you look. You're the only guy I'm comfortable with seeing me like this."

Jaune was at a loss for words, "I-I see. Ah, well, g-goodnight Cin." He then gave her a quick peck on the cheek before awkwardly scurrying out of the room.

The moment the door closed, Cinder collapsed onto the bed. Despite being alone she couldn't help but cover her face in embarrassment. _"I can't believe I did that,"_ she said inwardly. _"I showed him my tits on accident."_ It felt strange showing Jaune parts of her body without her initial consent. She was so used to purposely flaunting herself in front of him that it felt odd for him to accidentally see her in such a state. Soon she was hit with another realization. _"We kissed."_ "We kissed," she repeated this time it was with her mouth and not her mind. _"It was short and really our lips just barely touched but we still kissed."_ A wide goofy smile spread across her lips as she pumped her arms in victory and whispered, "Yes!"

* * *

 **Well that's it for this chapter I'll probably start working on the next one after this uploaded, so yeah tell me what you thought of this chapter. I haven't done an actual fight scene in a while but think this one was pretty decent. Also, I'm kinda interested in writing some entries from Cinder's diary, I'll start up a poll so you guys can vote on whether or not you want to see stuff from Cinder's diary. The pole will probably run until the next chapter. So vote while you can. Please note that I'm only taking poll votes and _not_ votes from the comments as it could screw with the numbers. So tell me what you guys thought of this one I had a time writing the beginning but I feel like everything came together in the end. By the way that isn't this chapter's original ending. The first ending was much naughtier but I decided that a little fluff never hurt. You'll get a slightly naughtier chapter in the not too distant future. Remember to leave a review and to vote on if I should or shouldn't do entries from Cinder's diary with that said I'll see you guys in the next.  
**


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